Perceptions Series: 10 A Difference of Visions
by kalinda001
Summary: The crew returns to Chandar to help the women of the planet. Jenna's dark journey continues. Avon, Argus, Vila and Sester wait on the women this time and provide comic relief. Avon learns to take care of Cally. The women kick butt.
1. Chapter 1

Description:

After the four boyz discover that they were friends in the past in the sinister Academy, the crew goes back to Chandar. The women there still need to be delivered from the dark ages.

Author's Note:

I have many people to thank for this story. It was a collaboration of efforts in many ways.

This story is for those who wanted to see more 'life on the ship' scenes and for the women having more of a focus. That is why the women are the ones who play the key role in helping the Chandarans and the men provide support and comedy. It gives the women more depth and makes them multidimensional rather than just female for the men to relate to.

I also wrote several of the women's scenes with the Bechdel test in mind.

Special thanks to Jaxomsride of LJ for suggesting the creation of a new character and for help in developing her. Also for much valuable beta help and contributing a sexy scene between Sester and Kirsten.

Chapter One

Jenna slipped quietly out of her small but luxurious cabin. The Red Raven might be a smuggler/trader ship, but she was a very successful one, and Captain Atton did not believe in scrimping on crew comforts. Of course, his cabin was twice the size of hers, but she wasn't complaining. Atton was a generous man, when he was happy. And when he wasn't…well, she had yet to discover what he was then, but from the warnings of the rest of the crew, it was best not to find out.

She was benefiting greatly from Atton's largesse. At this rate, in several months, maybe sooner, she would have enough to continue her search for Avalon. The revenge that Blake's blood cried out for would be a step closer.

Jenna crept quickly along the deserted corridors. Except for those on the flight deck, it was a sleep cycle for most. Atton and the engineer, RC, were busy dealing with an obstinate trans-cycle-regulator in the engine room. It was the first time Jenna had any chance of visiting the cargo holds alone and out of the way of watchful eyes.

She was determined to discover the contents of the containers they had been picking up intermittently from the neutral research labs in the Ciscus region and delivering to Sector Ten. This was the third run in the past two months.

They dealt with shadowy figures who didn't seem to have any names and who insisted on rendezvous in remote locations. Other than for prearranged coded signals, times and places, Captain Atton didn't seem to know them personally either. All the crew knew was that their share of the profits afterwards pointed to something very lucrative and most likely highly illegal. Nothing else would generate such high profits.

Atton deflected any crew questions with casual jokes. His people knew better than to ask questions of their leader when he didn't want to be forthcoming. They just did their jobs and reaped the rewards of being on one of the most successful smuggling crews this side of the trade lanes.

At times, Jenna was envious of the man's success and missed the old days when she had her own crew and command of her own ship. There was a time when she had even more of a reputation than Atton had. Jenna's mouth twisted into a wry smile. She had allowed too much of a reputation to develop or she wouldn't have been caught and sent on a one-way trip to Cygnus Alpha. It didn't pay to be well known in too many circles when your business required discretion.

But then she wouldn't have met Blake.

Sometimes Jenna would have wondered what it would have been like if she had never met him, had never been caught up in the aura of the man who believed in something. She had wanted to believe in that dream; but she had to admit to herself, what she really had wanted to believe in was the man behind the dream.

Now she didn't even have that. All she was left with was a consuming desire for vengeance. One that she would do anything to fulfil. Maybe then, she would finally have some peace.

Jenna scowled unpleasantly at the thought of the devious villain who was the bane of her existence. She grimaced at a twinge from an old malady. Ulcers. She'd developed them first during the _Liberator_ days. They had become so bad that she had to ask Cally for pills to manage the pain. It only got worse after she hooked up with Blake again after Star One. The man's obsession impelled them all, beyond all reason or endurance.

Jenna had loved him and had chosen to stay, hoping to keep him alive from the passions that drove him.

_Damn you, Avon! You should have kept him safe! He needed you! _

Jenna's fists balled up tight in anger. No matter how hard she had tried, she couldn't escape the fact that Avon had a great deal to do with keeping Blake alive all those years they were together. And he gave Blake the success that he craved. It was for that, almost as much as the cold-blooded murder, that Jenna had grown to hate Avon. The fact that Blake couldn't seem to manage without the man who had killed him.

The groups that Blake had burned through since Star One was destroyed could be counted in the number of scars on his body; marks of his brushes with death. The one over his eye was the worst. He had refused any tissue regenerators to remove the sign of his own responsibility.

Each failure only seemed to drive him harder. She had loved Blake for that, the fact that nothing could keep him down for long. He always came back up fighting.

The cost was too expensive and was paid in the blood of the innocent and the followers, as much as the enemy. Jenna couldn't watch it happen anymore; one group after another, like lambs marching into the jaws of death.

Why couldn't Blake see that what he was doing didn't make sense? That the risks were too great? That it made no sense to continually throw lives away for very little gain? There had to be other ways of doing things. But as from the start, Blake never listened to any counsel other than his own. She had known that from the beginning.

It hadn't been as bad on the _Liberator_. There had been other voices to join her own, even if Blake didn't listen. There had been dissenters to speak against the recklessness. She hadn't felt as alone then.

Jenna thought that with Avon gone, she would finally have Blake all to herself. However, she soon discovered that Blake's only passion had always been his desire to rip out the heart of the Federation. He never had room for anything else.

That fire to destroy should have abated after Star One; more than enough blood had been spilled on every side. However, for Blake, it never did. It almost seemed to drive him mad.

At first, no one listened to him; everyone was caught up in surviving. With the Federation on the run in the Outer Colonies, no one could see the need for rebellion anymore. Everyone was sick of the violence and death.

When the Federation quickly re-established itself in the Inner Colonies, Blake began to find odd pockets of resistance springing up again. It was his amazing gift. His message was clear. The siren cry of the Freedom Party was relevant once again. It was only a matter of time before the enemy began extending its iron and grasping fingers towards the Outer Colonies.

That was when the deaths began.

Jevron had been a horrific disaster. Blake had almost died there. It was only by the greatest stroke of luck that he had survived. After two days, Jenna had found his lifeless form amidst the rubble. With the few remaining rebels, she had managed to carry his blood-soaked body back to the ship. She refused to leave him behind. He was to become the great martyr that the Federation had always feared. Jenna was going to make sure of it. His legacy would go on; the desire of his heart would go on.

Once they got him back on the ship, Blake's eyelids fluttered and he looked up at her with those warm eyes that always drew her into his irresistible aura. His voice was hoarse from days of exposure but still magnetic. "Jenna?"

Blake was back in the land of the living. They were all amazed until they realized that most of the blood on his clothes were not his own. There was a severe gash on his head, extending from his eye and there was a laser burn along his ribs. He made a remarkable recovery. The only sign of the Jevron massacre was the scar over his eye. Blake refused to allow them to use the tissue regenerators on it. It was to remind him of those who had fallen. Of course, it never stopped him. He started pushing himself again long before he was ready to get back into the fight again.

From Jevron to GP had been a trail of blood. At times, Jenna felt as if they were wading in it. She couldn't stomach the cries of pain anymore or the agony of defeat in Blake's eyes.

Blake always survived to scratch out another batch of recruits. Jenna knew that the established rebel groups became wary of him after awhile. Oh, they still loved him and applauded his legend. They still lifted him up as a shining example of defiance, but no one wanted to be another Kasabi or Avalon or the countless others since then. The price of following Blake was too high.

There had been whispers that there was something odd going on. Why was it that every rebel group that worked with Blake ended up being slaughtered by Federation forces? From his early days with the Freedom Party, to his journey on the _Liberator_, and all the way up to Gauda Prime, why did every rebel group that worked with Blake, have such incredibly bad luck?

There had to be a reason. Of course, no one dared mention it in Blake's presence. He made it difficult to see or say anything bad about him when he was there. The man was supremely gifted in that respect. However, when he was not there…Jenna had heard troubling rumours whispered in dark corners, quickly quashed when she came within earshot.

After the disaster at Jevron, all of the ex-military groups had refused to work with him. The only one still willing to was Argus but even then, Argus insisted on leading his own missions.

Blake could not stand that for long, he had to be in control of everything and Argus would not accept plans that were as risky and pointless as Blake's were. He refused to sacrifice his own men. Not for random acts of violence that did little more than be a minor thorn in the side of the rapidly-re-expanding Federation.

As a result, Blake had to go further and further afield to recruit followers. Places that were far enough that they'd only heard of his legend and not the troubling rumours. That was why Blake had ended up on a fourth-rate planet that was begging to be let back into the Federation; recruiting among murderers and thieves that had once made that planet one of the most dangerous and lawless ones in the Federation. Where most decent people had fled long ago or had been murdered by the very people he was trying to recruit. Jenna couldn't believe it when she'd heard but part of her was afraid that it was true. The fanaticism that bordered on incomprehensibility was what had driven her away from Blake.

Jenna pounded her still-clenched fist against the bulkhead. She knew that part of her hatred of Avon was caught up in hatred of herself. She had failed Blake. She should never have left him. She should have helped him; the man needed help. Blake had cared so much that it had driven him slowly into madness, making him as dangerous as the people he was trying to destroy. If she had been there on Gauda Prime, maybe she could have stopped Avon's treacherous plans.

With shock, Jenna realized she was outside the cargo hold that was her destination. How long had she been standing there locked up in her own anguish? She quickly slipped inside and let the door slide closed behind her. There were stacks of crates here, luxurious foodstuffs and delicacies that were rare commodities in this Sector, but these were not her goal.

Jenna felt along the far wall for a slight indentation. There was a hold within a hold that held the ship's greater treasures, its hidden wealth.

The electro-key she had appropriated from Atton's cabin, during his last attempt at seduction, seemed to be burning a hole in her pocket. She absently felt its flat, circular shape with her fingers, just to reassure herself that it was still there. Of course, she had to return the key before Atton discovered it was missing but she wasn't worried.

Her fingers dipped imperceptibly as she found her target. A hand span from it, she found the matching indentation. With both hands, she pressed together. Sounds of metal sliding against metal as the hidden door catches were released. The wall panel slid aside to reveal a human-sized opening at hip-height.

She activated her hand torch, bent down and went inside. Packed tightly together, clearly marked with the tri-star emblem of the research labs, were a half-dozen metal containers. Her fingers touched the circular hole on the side of one of the containers. She took the key from her pocket and slid it into place. There were several snaps as its electronic encoding was recognized and the locks were disengaged.

She lifted the lid and played the hand torch over the contents. Row upon row of clear cylindrical tubes containing reddish liquid. She carefully lifted one of the cool tubes and studied its contents. There was a chemical name on the side in gold lettering but it meant nothing to her. She committed the incomprehensible name to memory and hoped that the ship's database was as useful as the _Liberator's_ had been.

Jenna closed up the lid, removed the key and quietly left the hold the way she had found it.

**********

The _Justice_ was finally headed back to Chandar to help that planet lift itself from the dark ages of an oppressive society. They had delayed for two days on Tellar as they waited for Avon to receive the stem cell therapy to repair his heart. He had originally insisted on going back to Chandar with them and return for the treatments afterwards. The Tellaran medical specialists had proposed performing the majority of the treatments on the planet but that the recovery period could occur on the ship as long as two of the doctors accompanied him and he followed their directions.

As this would give him the benefit of both courses of action, Avon agreed.

The treatments were performed without incident and a recovering Avon was transported up to the ship along with a battery of equipment and the two medical specialists.

**********

The atmosphere of the Justice was ripe with excitement as the crew and the Tellaran team headed by Marlena made preparations for Chandar. Planning and strategy sessions were carried out between the key members of both groups.

Travelling at an unhurried standard by four, gave them two weeks in which to prepare. Argus instituted drills for the crew to re-sharpen their reflexes and training after weeks of holiday. He also set up coordinated exercises with Marlena's team so that they could gain experience working together.

At Argus's insistence, Corinne had extra training sessions with Reya and several of the Athol soldiers while he personally familiarized her with the operation of the ship and her duties. He would not assign her a place on the regular flight deck rotation until she had completed her training.

**********

As Avon recovered in the medical unit, he became increasingly difficult to handle because of the forced inactivity. The knowledge that planning was going on while he, with a relatively functional mind, had no participation in it, was an unacceptable situation. Strident protests and attempts at persuasion were met with a wall of patient but firm refusal by both Cally and the medical specialists.

It was a good thing that old habits died hard and despite the modifications that had been made to repair his brain and hormonal imbalances, Avon was still a highly emotionally controlled person. If he hadn't been, the heart monitor he was required to wear would be set off constantly with his increasing irritability.

At times Cally would roll her eyes and listen patiently to his latest argument. Of course, each one ended with Avon brooding but still resting in the medical unit. Sometimes she thought that he seemed to take a perverse pleasure in seeing how she would deal with his latest verbal attempts at escape.

**********

As was their habit, and whenever their schedules permitted, Cally and Reya would meet for breakfast twice a week. It was a chance to share and spend time together even if the rest of the day was too busy to even speak to each other in passing. The dining area was only half-full at this hour and they were able to find a quiet corner to talk.

With a few distracted strokes, Cally spread some sim-butter on her multigrain muffin.

Reya glanced at her as she put her steaming cup of tea down. "You're worried about Avon?"

The question seemed to startle Cally as she put the knife down. "How did you guess?"

An amused smile played on Reya's lips as she said, "Your major source of worry is Avon. It was a safe guess."

A wry smile appeared on Cally's face and she sighed, "Perhaps I need another source of worry that isn't so obvious?"

Reya picked up her own muffin and broke off a piece. Its delicious apple and cinnamon aroma tickled the senses. This was her favourite and the ship's dispensers managed a fairly decent version of it. "How is he doing?"

"Physically the progress has been better than expected. He's still weak but his heart is responding well to the treatments. We will start rehabilitation therapy in a few days." She started in on her own muffin.

"That's good to hear. I imagine he can't wait for that to happen?"

"He doesn't want to wait," said Cally.

"Ah." Reya grinned with sympathy. "If you need, I'm sure I still have those cuffs we used to keep Argus in bed when he was injured."

"It's not necessary. Yet. Avon is still compliant as long as I can win against his arguments."

Reya chuckled. "It might be easier to tie him up."

"How is _your_ source of worry?"

"He's…worrying. I still can't get him to talk about what happened in the dreams. And I'm fairly certain that he hasn't talked with the others either."

Cally said with resigned sarcasm, "Typical."

"He doesn't see the need."

"That's always Avon's excuse."

Both women sighed.

Cally mused, "You're right. We need another source of worry other than the men."

Reya broke off another piece of her muffin. "I don't think I could handle more than Argus."

"They're both quite a handful," agreed Cally.

"That they are. What we really need is something to occupy our minds that doesn't involve thinking or talking about the men."

"We should try, if only for our own sanity." Cally pondered this idea. "Something that doesn't involve fighting."

"Hmm. The only non-martial activity I do is drawing."

"I think we need something a bit more interactive."

"I know the boys play chess sometimes. Though the way they do it, would qualify it as a combat sport."

Cally grinned, "I imagine that they could make almost anything they do into a combat sport."

Reya groaned.

Cally immediately leaned forward in concern. "Are you alright?"

"I think we both have a problem."

"We do?"

"We're talking about them again."

Cally started laughing. "We do appear to have one don't we?"

Corinne entered the dining hall. Her eyes swept the tables until they rested on Cally and Reya. Cally waved and said in greeting, "Corinne, come and join us." She indicated a free chair at their table.

Corinne smiled. "Thanks. I'll get some breakfast and join you." She headed to the dispensers.

Cally said, "We should include Corinne."

"That's a good idea. Maybe she might have some ideas. I can't think of anything."

After a few minutes, Corinne returned with a bowl of chocolate ice cream, two slices of toast with some marmalade and a cup of milk tea.

As Corinne started on her food, Reya asked, "How are you finding everything, Corinne?"

"There's so much to learn but everyone's been very helpful," she said enthusiastically.

"Have you been finding the training hard?"

"Oh, no. It's not hard at all except for the sessions with you. All of the soldiers have been _very_ nice."

A look passed between Reya and Cally. Reya asked casually, "They have?"

"Yes, very."

Reya pointed out, "The training is supposed to be challenging. Else it won't be as useful."

"I love the ones with you. You're very hard but I like that. I like the challenge," said Corinne.

"You've done well," remarked Reya.

Cally said, "You should take that as a great compliment. Reya doesn't give them out lightly."

Corinne had a thoughtful expression on her face, "I've always wondered why Vila seems so nervous around you."

Reya asked, "Is he still doing that?"

Cally had an amused tone. "I think they're all doing that, even Avon."

Reya had a bewildered exasperation on her face. "I don't understand why. There's nothing I can do that one of them can't. What's so intimidating about that?"

Cally said, "You really don't know, do you? Even after what you did on Chandar?"

Reya asked, "I don't make you nervous, do I?"

"No. But then, I'm a woman."

Reya asked incredulously, "You're not serious?"

"I'm afraid so. A woman like you is very intimidating for men. They're either afraid of you or they love you. And some of them manage both at the same time."

Corinne said, "That's silly."

Cally gave her a good-natured grin. "It is very."

Reya said with light annoyance, "I wish they would stop it." She groaned again. "Oh, no."

Corinne looked concerned even as Cally realized what the problem was and started laughing. Cally said, "We do have a problem, don't we?"

Corinne asked, "What problem?"

Reya explained, "We're trying to stop thinking or talking about the men. We're not succeeding very well."

Corinne was puzzled. "Why would we want to do that?"

Cally said jokingly, "Give it a few months, Corinne, and then you'll understand."

"There's so much to learn. You don't have training on that, do you?"

Reya asked, "Understanding men? I'm afraid that requires hands-on experience, lots of patience and the occasional hard knock on the head. Maybe we could use a support group?"

Cally said absently, "Singing."

Reya asked, "Singing?"

"Yes, it's a good group activity and it aids in releasing stress."

"I don't know…," said Reya with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm.

Corinne said eagerly, "I'd love to try it." She enjoyed trying out new experiences and wanted to know the two women better.

Reya took one look at the young woman's keen face and said half-heartedly, "I suppose I could try it once. But you might need ear-protectors."

Cally grinned, "I will bring a supply from the medical unit."

Reya finished the rest of her tea and stood up. "I'm due for my shift. Singing tomorrow after the training session?"

Cally said, "I will arrange the music."

Reya picked up her tray and before she headed out said, "And I'll speak to the soldiers."

Corinne was wondering if she had missed part of the conversation.

Cally glanced at Corinne before saying, "That's a good idea."

**********

Argus was walking along, headed for a well-earned shower after his workout when his sharp senses heard something mechanical sneaking up from behind. There were no weapons to hand but he wasn't concerned. In one motion, he whirled and prepared to throw himself at the intruder. It was an odd contraption, with a strange shape, reminiscent of an Earth-style domestic animal. However, this one did not have lovable fur, instead it had ominous instruments that protruded and were extending from all directions, one of which was his.

Somehow, this strange device had been able to gain access to the ship. The Tellarans had not mentioned bringing any such device aboard and Argus doubted if they would have let one roam the ship with out informing him first. He couldn't think about that now, in a split second he had reacted.

"Beep…" The thing barely got out a sound when Argus pounced on it and rendered it harmless with a few swift kicks. He went to the nearest comm panel and activated the ship alarm, "Intruder alert! Security Team One to deck two, corridor…three. Security officer coordinate a deck by deck sweep. Intruder alert! Unidentified mechanoid device found on deck two." A claxon began its ship-wide warning, waking up all to the danger that had befallen them.

Confident that Reya would take care of the rest, Argus bent down carefully to examine the machine. From the looks of it, he had thoroughly disarmed the device and there didn't seem to be any hidden explosives. The weapons protruding from it, and which were now bent in awkward angles, seemed odd. He'd never seen such ones before.

When the security team arrived, he directed them to make a thorough search of the corridors. Then he picked up the offending device and carried it to the medical unit where Avon was 'confined' during his recovery. Argus was certain that Avon would be able to identify what it was. Not to mention, he would welcome the distraction. Cally had refused to let Argus talk to Avon about anything important during his recovery, which limited the conversation somewhat. Surely, she could see the need now.

Chapter Two

Vila and Corinne were playing a board game together in the recreation room when Argus's voice came blaring over the ship's comm.

** Intruder alert! Security Team One to deck two, corridor…three. Security officer coordinate a deck-by-deck sweep. Intruder alert! Unidentified mechanoid device found on deck two. **

Vila dropped his playing piece, which resembled a tiny clown, and his mouth opened in shock.

A loud claxon began to sound the warning.

He gulped and mouthed a silent, "_Oh no!"_

Corinne looked worried, "Should we be doing something?"

Vila popped up out of his seat and shouted. "Yes!" Then he looked down at Corinne and his eyes widened and took on a panicked expression. "Um…I mean, _I_ should be doing something. You stay right here…because…uh…you don't know what to do yet and…"

He headed quickly towards the exit. "You stay right here, Corinne. It might…be dangerous. That's it. Dangerous. Very dangerous…" He seemed to be babbling.

Corinne had also stood up and was about to accompany him. "I should come with you."

He held up his hand. "Nooo. You heard Argus, there are mechanoids. They could be dangerous."

"Then I should definitely come with you." Corinne came towards him.

Vila backed up against the door, as if he was trying to block her from leaving. He tried to wrack his brain for any reason to prevent her from coming with him. "You're not trained yet, Corinne. There are security teams out there. You'd get in the way."

Corinne's face fell in disappointment and she stopped advancing. "I suppose so. I wouldn't want to interfere. I'll stay here."

Now Vila felt terrible. "I mean, it's just for now. Until you're trained. You can come next time."

Corinne nodded. "Alright."

**********

Argus entered the infirmary and headed straight towards Avon's bed. Avon was sitting up with his arms crossed over his chest. He appeared to be waiting.

Cally was nearby doing something and only nodded her head in acknowledgement of Argus's entrance. The firm look in her eyes also contained a warning.

Argus noticed that the claxon sound had been turned down to a quiet suggestion of warning as he approached the bed looking for a place to put the machine down.

Avon shifted his legs aside to make room and asked, "What took you so long?"

Argus carefully put it down on the vacated area. Its weight made a huge dent in the bed. "It's heavy."

Avon immediately began examining it. He touched the various broken protuberances with a puzzled look on his face.

Vila raced in out-of-breath and skidded to a stop as he saw the machine on the bed. He exclaimed with a horrified look on his face, "Spot!"

Avon and Argus looked at each other. Argus mouthed, "_Spot?_"

Vila came over with halting steps and stared with dismay at the broken machine. He said accusingly, "You've killed him!"

Avon's eyes narrowed and he asked, "Are you responsible for this…contraption?"

Vila didn't seem to hear the question; he _seemed_ to be overwhelmed with emotion as he reached out and touched the machine's head. "Spot, what did they do to you?"

Argus said, "Vila, is this…thing…yours?"

Vila looked up. "It's Spot."

Avon remarked sarcastically, "Beyond being typically uninformative as usual, you've also managed to add an unprecedented level of irrelevance."

Argus asked, "Vila, is this machine yours?"

"Well, yes. Sort of."

"You brought this machine onboard and let it roam the ship? Without informing me?"

Vila tried to explain, "It wasn't supposed to be like that. I didn't know it got loose. I was hiding it in one of the supply cupboards and the room was locked. I swear, I don't know how it got out."

Avon asked with a suspicious tone, "You were hiding it? For what purpose?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise. A gift. I would have told you. Just not yet."

They were starting to get a much clearer, if not entirely clear picture.

Argus asked, "Vila, what is this machine?"

"It's a cleaning 'bot."

Avon looked at the protuberances again; the object that looked like a cloth, was obviously meant for wiping. The duster, was not some odd weapon. A hose was most likely used for water or some other cleaning liquid and not a deadly chemical spray. He had a highly amused smile as he said to Argus, "Congratulations, you killed a cleaning appliance."

Argus had a perturbed look on his face, "Well, how was I supposed to know? It looked…"

Avon took the cloth from one of the ends and handed it to him. "Dangerous enough to clean?"

Vila asked, "Who's going to fix it?"

Avon studied the twisted metal bits. "We have an adequate cleaning system on the ship. This is redundant."

"But it's cute. _It_ has a personality and it's nice and polite."

Argus looked at Avon. "Was that an insult? Who is he talking about?"

Vila added, "And it doesn't go around destroying things."

Argus said, "That must be me."

Avon remarked dryly, "It certainly isn't me. You broke it; you should be the one to fix it."

Argus was not enthusiastic. "But…I'm not a technician or a mechanic."

"You're not seriously proposing that _I_ fix a cleaning appliance?" asked Avon in an insulted voice.

Cally came over and reminded them. "Avon is not going to be doing anything yet. You already have enough things for him to do."

Vila was insistent. "But it's for Corinne's birthday. She really liked the one she saw on Tellar, that's why I got it for her."

Avon, Argus and Cally exchanged looks.

Argus asked, "When is her birthday?"

"Next week."

Cally stared hard at Avon. Avon had a pained and reluctant look on his face and then he sighed and nodded. "I will fix it."

Vila said with relief, "Thanks, Avon."

For some reason, Avon found that he wasn't entirely reluctant to do this for Vila and Corinne, even if it meant repairing a cleaning robot. "You're welcome. Just keep it away from _him_."

Argus said, "I suppose I should turn the alarm off."

**********

Cally led Reya and Corinne deep into the bowels of the ship, commonly known as the engineering deck. "Avon suggested this place when I told him that we were singing as a form of recreation."

Reya glanced over. "Is that all he said?"

"Well, there was a raising of the eyebrows first."

Reya said jokingly, "That strong a reaction?"

Cally grinned. "I told him that it was a good way to relieve the stress of having to deal with stubborn men."

"What was his reaction to that?"

Cally remembered the affronted look on Avon's face and she had felt the instant denial in his mind. However, after a brief struggling thought, those were not the words that came out for her. "He said the harmonics room on the engineering deck would be the optimum place for this kind of activity."

Reya said, "He makes it sound like a scientific experiment."

Cally turned a corner and the women followed her. "For Avon, most things are. Sometimes I think he likes to say things just to see what effect it will produce. He's very inquisitive."

Corinne had been following the older women's discussion with interest. "But what if the words he says hurts someone?"

Cally and Reya slowed to look at her. Cally said with a pleasant smile, "That makes you a wise young woman. Wiser than Avon in some respects."

Corinne rejected this idea, "I couldn't be smarter than Avon. He's much more intelligent that I am."

Reya said, "Very few people have a brain that compares with Avon's but Cally wasn't speaking of intelligence."

Cally stopped in front of a door. "Avon has a weakness. He doesn't understand some basic things about being a human being. He does not recognize the importance of emotions or sentiment. He often sees himself more as an alien than as a human being."

Corinne's forehead wrinkled in puzzlement. "But aren't you an alien? You don't think like that."

Cally smiled, "That's true. That's why you're wiser than Avon."

"I don't understand."

"It's complicated." Cally touched the panel on the side and the door slid open, revealing a large room. She announced, "We're here."

The women looked curiously into the room. A rainbow of lights, like coloured shadows played along the crystals embedded into the walls. Their mouths fell open in astonishment at the exquisite vision.

Corinne said in a voice that was almost afraid to break the stillness, "Oh, that's beautiful!"

Cally was stunned, "All those years…I never knew this was here."

Cally heard a faint and tentative question along her mental connection to Avon. *_ Do you like it? _*

She sent him an impression of a pleased smile along with her feelings of wonder. * _Yes, I do, Avon. Thank you. It's wonderful._ *

*_ I'm glad. The musical harmonies will interact well with the crystals. I will leave you to enjoy it. _* Avon's voice became quiet.

Corinne asked, "How did Avon know this was here?"

"There is very little he doesn't know about this ship. But there is also very little that he communicates unless he feels there's a need."

Reya loved the dynamic colours that wove and intertwined with each other. "I'm glad he communicated this."

Cally said, "So am I." She crossed the threshold with soft steps, almost as an acolyte entering a sacred chamber for the first time. The others followed her.

They explored the chamber and its banks of crystals that were embedded into the walls. Light emanated from the crystals and were the source of the rainbow of colours that reflected off every surface, including their bodies.

Reya asked, "Did Avon say what this room was for?"

"Nothing other than it was a harmonics room."

Corinne was studying one of the crystals carefully. It was pulsing with brilliant energy. She said with wonder, "These crystals…almost seem alive."

Cally remarked, "I wouldn't be surprised. Avon said that there was an organic basis to some of the ship's technology."

Reya felt the hard, smooth surface of one of the crystals, it pulsed beneath her fingers. "All of this…energy…it wouldn't be radiation of some kind, would it?"

"Avon didn't mention it but it wouldn't be harmful to us or he would not have sent me here."

"I'm not worried. Just curious. I would like to know what this room is for."

Corinne said, "Me too. It has to have some other function than being beautiful."

Cally said, "I will ask him if you wish."

Reya said, "Go ahead, we're both curious."

Cally closed her eyes and concentrated on her connection to Avon. *_ Avon, is there anything in this room that we should not touch?_ *

She waited a few seconds before hearing his distracted reply, * _No. You are free to touch anything in the room. You can even remove the crystals if you wish. Just return them when you're done. Each slot is individualized to the crystal so there is no concern of improper placement. _*

Cally asked, *_ Avon what is this place? _*

*_ Didn't I mention it? _*

Cally wanted to send a sigh and a mental roll of her eyes but refrained. *_ You didn't. _*

*_ The ship requires living crystals for its various systems. The room you are in is the secondary storage area for these crystals. They enable the ship to dynamically repair itself, like a living organism, and return it to its original state. A template in effect. _*

*_ You mean, like a genetic profile for the ship. _*

Cally was aware of a light wave of admiration emanating from Avon. *_ That is a good analogy. _*

_* Thank you for telling me, Avon. _*

*_ All knowledge is useful. Sharing that knowledge with someone who understands is also useful. _*

Cally sent him an amused, *_ I'm glad you enjoyed it sharing it with me. _* She could almost imagine the reluctant smile threatening to appear on his face.

With a final, * _You're welcome._ * Avon's voice became silent again.

Cally refocused her eyes on the two women.

Reya asked, "Well, what did he say?"

Corinne grinned, "It must have been something very interesting."

Cally shared what Avon had told her about the room.

When she was done, Reya brushed her fingers along the crystal-embedded wall. "That's _very_ interesting." She took hold of one and lightly tugged on it. The crystal didn't budge. She took a firmer grip on it and pulled harder. The crystal came away with a snick.

Cally and Corinne removed their own crystals and looked at them.

The energies pulsed beneath their fingers.

Reya held hers up and peered into its translucent body. "Living crystal, he said?"

Cally replied, "Yes."

Corinne had both hands around hers and was enjoying the tickling sensation that seemed to radiate from it and through into her body. "It _feels_ alive."

Cally had a suspicion. Holding the object in both hands like Corinne, she closed her eyes and sent her consciousness towards it.

Energy. Connectedness. Wholeness. Life.

Cally's eyes sprang open. "It's alive but…not in the way we understand it."

"What does that mean?" asked Reya.

"It's hard to explain. It's aware but there is no consciousness. At least, not that I can recognize with my psi abilities. Sort of a state between inanimate object and animate. Avon would find this interesting."

Reya pursed her lips in thought, "Do you think Avon knows?"

"You mean he had a reason for sending us here?"

"Sending _you_ here."

Cally said, "You're paranoid."

Reya said apologetically, "Sorry, it's the security officer in me. Bad habit among friends." She said thoughtfully, "As you said, Avon must know every centimetre of this ship. If he wanted to use your psi abilities to test the crystals, he would have long before now. So it must mean that he already knows the properties of the crystals. He didn't need you to test them. He just wanted you to enjoy the room."

Cally said, "Speaking of enjoying this room…"

Corinne said eagerly, "Are we singing now?"

Reya turned the crystal over in her hands, "What affect do you think the singing will have on these?"

Cally slid hers back into its slot with a click. "There's only one way to find out." She took a small rectangular device from her pocket while the others re-slotted their crystals. "The only songs I know are Auron ones. I hope you don't mind." Cally turned the device on.

A beautiful melody surrounded them on all sides, accompanied by delicate counterpoints and harmonies. The sounds bounced off the walls and crystals, like waves of energy that was felt as a vibration that reverberated in their bodies. The coloured lights of the crystals seemed to respond with an accompanying rhythm. Sights, sounds and sensations wove together to form a visceral experience of the senses. They were all stunned. It was incredible.

Cally was even more astonished. She could 'feel' a connection to the crystals, an exquisite sensation of the mind, reflecting the evocative Auronar melody. It was indescribable. There was a feeling of being filled and no longer being alone. With shock, she realized that she had felt something like this before, back on the planet with the shadow creatures. But there was something different; it was similar but not quite the same.

Cally got hold of herself and turned the music off.

Reya and Corinne gasped as the sensations dissipated without warning.

Corinne said with awe, "That was amazing!"

Reya agreed, "It was incredible. The music…I could feel it."

Cally looked around her with wonder. The crystals were pulsing around them almost as if holding onto the dying echoes of the beautiful melody. "It wasn't the music. It was the crystals. They did this. They took the music and echoed it in vibrations, sounds and light. And in my mind. It was…it almost felt...as if I was touching other minds again."

Reya asked, "You mean they really are alive?"

Cally wondered if Avon knew this would happen. "I can't describe it. They're alive but it's a different sense of being alive. Suddenly…I didn't feel so alone anymore."

There was such a sad and wistful expression on Cally's face that Reya touched her arm. "I never asked you about Auron before. About what happened to your people. It must be very lonely for you."

"It's alright."

Reya suddenly found words difficult. What could you say to someone who had lost an entire people? "I can't imagine what it must be like to be a telepath and to suddenly find yourself alone."

"It…has been difficult. The loneliness at times is overwhelming. I miss them very much."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Reya asked gently.

There was anguish and pain in Cally's eyes. Even after what she shared with Avon that night, it was not enough, the aches were still there. As with him, the healing would take a long time. She would need the support and understanding from people who cared about her.

Corinne had been watching silently. Compassion filled her heart even though she didn't know what the two women were talking about. She could see Cally's misery and sadness. She could identify with the loneliness even if she didn't understand its nature or its extent.

No one had ever told her about Cally but she wished there was something she could say to give support. Corinne also reached out and touched Cally's arm. "Cally, I don't know what happened to your people. It must have been something terrible. I can't imagine. But I'm here for you too. If you want to talk about it, I want to listen. I want to hear about the people who could create such beautiful music."

Cally had not intended to talk about herself but she realized now that she should have guessed. Something inside her wanted to hear the songs of her people being sung again. To hear the beauty of their souls being reflected in the unique harmonies.

She began quietly, not talking about herself, but her people, the Auronar.

"We are…" Cally hesitated. In her mind and heart, she still thought and spoke of them in the present tense. "We were people of peace. Maintaining a neutral position despite the violence around us."

Corinne asked, "Were you all telepaths?"

"No. Psi abilities existed in our population but it was rare until Franton. He was the greatest biogeneticist our people ever produced. His specialty was cloning technology."

Reya leaned forward with interest. "You mean like the Clonemasters?"

"Yes, outside of the Clonemasters, my people were the masters of cloning technology."

A thought passed across Reya's face. "And now they're both gone."

"Yes, Servalan destroyed them both."

"If I were the suspicious kind…that would seem odd. Did she have something against people who had cloning technology? Or was it a coincidence?"

Cally also reflected on this. "I never made a connection."

Reya shrugged. "Perhaps because there is none. I am naturally suspicious."

Cally continued, "Franton found that his new cloning technology produced consistent psi abilities in the offspring. My people had been trying to do that for centuries. Some of us thought that it might become a peaceful form of defence."

Reya was interested in this, "You mean using psi abilities rather than military force?"

"That was the idea. That is why some of our scientists worked on mind interceptors."

Reya remembered with a shock of guilt, "Vanora."

Cally said sadly, "Yes. She was one of the scientists."

Corinne realized that there was a lot to be caught up on in the lives of her new shipmates but there would be time for that. She asked curiously, "Cally, what is it like being telepathic? How is it to be able to feel all those minds?" After she said it, she realized that it might not be a good time to ask this question considering the sadness Cally was feeling. "I'm sorry, ignore my question. I shouldn't be asking it now."

Cally gave her brief reassuring smile. "It's alright. I want to speak of them. I need to." She stood up and went to one of the walls. Her fingers lightly, almost lovingly, touched the pulsing crystals. "When the music played, you could feel the vibrations all around you. Touching you, reaching inside of you. Filling your senses. That is what it is like for an Auronar when we are joined. We are part of each other. Feeling each other's presence, like something tangible but inside our hearts and minds. Knowing each other's love. Understanding each other on a deep level."

Corinne said wistfully, "That must be wonderful."

Reya asked, "But how do you get anything done? How do you operate and think independently? Or is it more like a group mind?"

"No. Nothing like that. We are all independent, even though we are joined. From childhood, we are taught to build up mental walls that quiet the voices in our minds to a dull murmuring just at the edge; an awareness of each other without losing ourselves. We are not all joined with the same strength. Those in the same sibling groupings have the strongest connection. With some, I am only aware of them just a little more than a non-Auronar. When we have group meetings, we open ourselves up to each other's voices. And in intimate moments…we share the essence of who we are." Her voice trailed off in remembrance. With Avon, she was beginning to share a shade of what was possible with a fully psi-developed Auronar. Only time would tell if more was achievable.

Corinne said with awe. "That's a very special thing."

They were touching an area that was intensely personal for Cally. "It is. But now…I don't want to talk anymore. I want to sing. Of Auron."

Reya said, "It will be one way we can help keep your people alive."

The women sat down while Cally turned on the music again. Projected in front of them were the words so they could follow along. They let the sensations of the crystals wash over them, enjoying the harmonies together as Cally began singing, her voice a melancholy soprano. She sang of the joys of never being alone, of harmony and peace.

Soon Corinne's voice joined hers as she picked up the melody. Hesitantly, and with a scratchy voice, Reya tried following along. Cally and Corinne both smiled encouragingly. Soon a low alto emerged from her throat and the three of them enjoyed the gift of music from a people they were determined not to forget.

Chapter Three

"Authorization marker," demanded a humourless and arrogant Federation Customs official. The man had a severe face with thin lips and ears that seemed large enough to catch any whisper.

Captain Atton slowly reached into his vest pocket, mindful that any unexpected or suspicious moves could result in a few unfortunately placed shots by the unfriendly looking troopers who had rifles pointed in his direction. He pulled out the official verification marker that showed which sectors of space the Raven was allowed to operate in and the types of cargo she was allowed to carry and handed it to the humourless officer.

The Red Raven had run into a Federation customs trap. The Customs pursuit ships were hidden in orbit around a nearby moon and the crew didn't see them until it was too late. Running would have made them look suspicious. So Captain Atton cheerfully accepted the orders to be boarded, and acted the successful and compliant free trader while silently signalling the crew off-screen to make sure that everything was secured.

Customs Officer Fuller slid the marker into the verification scanner and read the details of the Raven's charter and her current registered flight plan. "This expires next month."

Atton said cheerfully, and like a man without a worry, "But we're fine for now?"

The man read the charter again, as if he was determined to find something to charge them with. With ill humour, he said, "For now. Get it renewed."

"We'll definitely do that, officer. Was there anything else?"

The thin-lipped man said to his men, "Search the ship." Most of the black clad troopers headed off to follow the orders while some stayed behind. The official demanded, "Show me your cargo hold. I want to see what you're carrying."

Atton caught Jenna's eyes briefly. She joined the group as Atton said, "Right this way, Officer."

**********

In the packed-to-the-ceiling cargo hold, as the black clad Federation Customs troopers conducted a search, opening several of the containers and examining their contents, Captain Atton kept up animated chatter while Jenna stood out of the way, near one of the walls.

Jenna watched Atton's performance with reluctant admiration. The man was very good at inane, friendly conversation that presented a picture of a harmless but successful trader; wearing down his audience with mindless and irrelevant details. She had her own techniques but she appreciated the effectiveness of Atton's. The man was obviously good at what he did. He had the charm of the successful merchant, able to find and tap a person's weaknesses, the ones that made them buy things they didn't want or take things they shouldn't.

Atton said, "We're only carrying luxury foodstuffs. Some fine wines. Vintage. Very vintage. From the vineyards of the Otalia Preserve on Zaskar Major."

The Customs officer's sizeable ears twitched slightly at that news.

Jenna knew that Atton wouldn't have missed the movement, even though he didn't seem to be paying attention. She knew every one of Atton's senses was on high alert. There was nothing casual about what he was doing, even though his manner was laid-back.

Atton continued his friendly Captain routine. "We have some caviar too, straight from Earth. The real thing, not the syntha-garbage they foist off on the lower grades. You must know the stuff, a civilized man like you."

_Laying it on a bit thick this time_, thought Jenna.

Officer Fuller's ears twitched quite noticeably. It was just the right amount of thickness.

Atton turned his head towards Jenna a bit. They both knew this kind of official. The man was typical of his kind, a Beta, like most Customs officers. A Beta with access and power over some highly valuable commodities.

In their experiences, not many people could resist. It was an age where everyone looked out for his or her own interests and no one could be trusted. The age of the dishonest man, which made it very convenient for people who knew how to take advantage of such qualities.

Jenna knew there were two ways that this could go. It all depended on how greedy the Customs official was and how devious and unscrupulous.

Atton continued listing other choice items as some of the troopers began tapping along the walls and using a hand scanner. Each rap was rewarded with a solid metallic response. Jenna knew they would be hearing that regardless of where they rapped and the scanners would not find anything.

The Red Raven was a specially customized bird with some unusual properties in its cargo hold that extended beyond a secret compartment. If she gained another free trader ship again, Jenna was determined to have these 'special' qualities built into her own.

Fuller was responding so well that Atton said amiably, "Why don't we make ourselves comfortable and break open a bottle…" He moved towards one of the open containers. Immediately, the troopers turned in his direction, their weapons pointed at him.

_Here we go_, thought Jenna, as she prepared for the next stage.

Atton froze with his hands up. "Wait…" There was the proper amount of fear on his face.

Fuller dropped his greedy Beta-official demeanour and became the severe, too-deadly-to-be-crossed Federation functionary. "What are you doing?"

Atton had a nervous smile on his face, "I was going to be hospitable and offer you some wine."

Fuller sneered, "Do you think I'm a fool?" The previous, simply arrogant and humourless bureaucrat had also been a façade, just like Atton's friendly Captain routine. Fuller had dropped his act and just shown his true colours.

Jenna wasn't surprised at all. She hadn't liked the look of the official since he had boarded the ship. Now it was only a matter of finding out how unpleasant the man really was and how much they would have to do to distract him from finding their secrets.

Atton cautiously put his hands down and said in a placating voice, "Of _course_ not. I don't think you're a fool."

Jenna thought to herself, _He just knows you are. Or at least, he hopes. _She came forward with a smile and said in a smooth, seductive voice, "No one thinks you're a fool, Officer Fuller. We wouldn't dare. You're obviously smart and…"

Fuller backed up as if she was someone carrying a concealed weapon. Either that or women made him nervous. "Don't come any closer."

Jenna looked at him with interest. The man seemed to be overreacting. Was he expecting something? Or was it simply a case of being wary of women?

A little test was in order. Plus it would add a little more distraction. Jenna did not go any closer but she had her best, suggestive smile on her face. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

Fuller remarked coldly to Atton, "You're pathetic, both of you. How could you possibly think I could be fooled by such an act? And as for you…" He eyed Jenna slowly from top to bottom, in a very insulting way. "…it's obvious he didn't hire you for your brains…or your looks."

Jenna's smile was only maintained by gritting teeth now. Inside, she was fuming at the affront and already had ten ways of making this man beg for mercy. Fuller was obviously after something and he enjoyed the power he yielded; far too much.

Everything was still working perfectly. The Customs official didn't realize that he was the only one who was being obvious. Atton and Jenna were ready for this kind of challenge.

Atton's eyes widened, just a touch, not enough to be noticed by the Federation official but it spoke loudly to Jenna. The soldiers were not only tapping on the walls now, they were carefully feeling their way along several panels. They had never done that before. Tapping and scans were their normal procedure. They were boringly and reliably predictable in their lack of creativity. Until now. Had someone tipped them off?

Jenna had her first feelings of apprehension. They had not anticipated this. If the troopers discovered the minute indentations along the wall that activated the secret panel…if they were just a little too curious…

She had to do something. Deflect their attention somehow.

Jenna took a step towards Fuller and said, "The Captain was only trying to be hospitable…"

Fuller drew his gun and pointed it at her. "I said, don't come near me. Step back."

Jenna sighed. "I was only trying to explain. No harm done." She backed away, walked over to the far wall and leaned back against it; just a tad too nonchalantly but not too obvious. Just enough to draw attention to herself but not point out why, unless you had some intelligence and the Customs official did. Jenna was counting on it.

Fuller looked at her suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

Jenna asked, "What do you mean? You said to get as far away from you as possible. That's what I'm doing. If it's not far enough…I can't help you there. I could leave the room…"

Fuller said forcefully, "Step away from the wall."

"Why? I can't do anything to you. I can't even _smell_ you from here."

"Step away or I will have my people _make_ you step away."

Jenna did as directed.

Fuller felt along the wall where Jenna had stood. He ordered the troopers, "Check this wall. Every centimetre of it."

All of the troopers stopped what they were doing and concentrated on the wall Jenna had been leaning against. There were excited sounds of anticipation as they ripped open several panels, but they soon became disappointed. After every panel had been removed and nothing found, the lead trooper reported, "There's nothing, sir. It's clear."

Fuller said with frustration, "It can't be…there's got to be something. I was sure…"

"Unless it's invisible, we can't find it, sir. Should we check the rest of the walls?"

Jenna unconsciously held her breath. Would this work?

Atton said, "I told you that you wouldn't find anything. We're a harmless, if very rich trading ship. All we have are some fine comestibles, nothing more. But by all means, please check them. You must be a thorough man, Officer Fuller. You wouldn't be doing your job if you didn't check everything."

Fuller said angrily, "Don't tell me what my job is."

Atton said in a mollified voice, "I wouldn't dare to presume, but as your men are going to check, why don't we follow my earlier suggestion and make ourselves comfortable. Break open a bottle of wine. It looks like very thirsty work."

The trooper who made the report asked, "Sir, what do you want us to do?"

Fuller's angry face took on a crafty look. He addressed Atton, "As you're being so hospitable, you wouldn't mind benefiting a poor Customs official with a few containers of wine and caviar, would you? Say five of each?"

Jenna let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. They were back on track.

Atton smiled. "May I?"

Fuller nodded and Atton walked over to one of the opened containers. He reached in slowly, drew out a stack of interconnected caviar boxes, and came back with them. Atton handed them to Fuller with a flourish, "It's the best."

Fuller looked down at the boxes, "What's this?"

"You asked for five…"

"Are you dense? I said _five containers_. Of each."

Atton looked outraged. "You're not serious?"

Fuller said with a dangerous snarl, "I could always confiscate your entire cargo and still have my men continue with the search. I will have them rip open every panel in this hold. Plus a few choice ones on your flight deck. And perhaps your engineering room as well. I can't guarantee that my men won't do any damage. They do tend to be clumsy. Of course, it isn't _my_ ship."

Atton became panicked, "Wait a minute…let's be reasonable here. I'm barely breaking even if you take five of each. What if you take two of the wine and three of the caviar?"

Fuller mused, "Two and three? I might be willing to if you…" He glanced over at Jenna. "…include her in the deal."

Jenna took a step forward, "Wait just a minute…" A trooper held her back.

Atton stared at her, as if he was considering the offer. "She _is_ new…and…" He seemed to take a long time to deliberate. Far too long for Jenna's taste. Atton's jaw tightened. "Alright, five of each. And leave Jen out of it."

Fuller smiled cruelly. "Done. Six of each."

Atton said angrily, "You said five!"

"I lied. But you get to keep the woman." Fuller directed his men to take the containers and return to the ship.

Before Fuller entered the airlock back to his craft, he said, "Your ship has passed inspection, Captain Atton. It's been a pleasure and don't forget to renew your charter."

The hatch clanged shut and the bolts slid into place.

Jenna said angrily, "If I see that man again…"

Atton chuckled, "I'm sure you'll do something suitably painful to him before you kill him, and I'd like to watch."

"Don't worry," she said fiercely. "You'll have front-row seats."

Atton said appreciatively, "Very well done by the way."

"We've had a lot of practice, haven't we? Two old hands."

"The trick with the wall?"

Jenna grinned, "Why try to protect a wall that has nothing worth protecting?"

"I knew there was a reason why I brought you with me."

"You wanted to see how good I was?"

"You've lived up to your reputation, Jenna Stannis."

Jenna nodded. "You have too."

"We make a good team."

"What was that comment about 'she is new…'?"

Atton grinned, "I had to give it a little drama, or it wouldn't have been convincing. I _am_ supposed to be a _greedy_ free trader, after all and a very _successful_ one. "

"You were very convincing." Jenna wondered how convincing he would have had to be if she was of no use to him. It was a good thing that she didn't have to find out. She hoped she would be long gone before she did. There were already too many Avons in her life. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life chasing after them and making them all pay.

"Some wine?" Atton offered as he went to one of the containers and picked out a bottle.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Chapter Four

Cally checked in on Avon in the medical unit after the singing session. She found him engrossed with a computer that he had insisted be installed in the medical unit. He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice Cally until she was right next to him.

He raised a startled head and automatically lifted up an arm as if to ward off an attack but relaxed when he saw her. "Cally. I didn't see you come in."

It was an old defensive habit that he hadn't been able to break. Sometimes he woke up that way when he was startled, almost as if he expected to be murdered in his sleep. Cally wondered what kind of life he had led that would make him like this. She imagined that it had been a very nervous one.

She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to be nervous anymore, he didn't have to be afraid for his life, not with her. He loved and trusted her, more than anyone else he had ever known. He had told her that, and she believed him. But old habits die hard; habits that had kept him alive when no one else cared. It would take time.

"You were busy." Out of habit, Cally checked the life monitors by his bed. "I see that you had them install the computer."

"I'm analyzing the schematics for the cleaning appliance."

Cally continued assessing the readings and said absently, "Spot."

"Yes…the _cleaning appliance_." Avon said decisively as he swung the computer away from him and with just the barest twitch of a smile at the corner of his lips, leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

Cally looked over at him curiously, aware of a light mischievous impression from their mental connection. "It has a name, Avon."

"It's a machine, Cally."

She was prepared to defend all named computers everywhere and pointed out, "Zen and ORAC have names."

"They are also machines, albeit sophisticated ones. They have designations that are acronyms indicating their function. Would you like to know what the acronyms stand for?"

"Then it's a name with a meaning, like all names."

"I have never understood why people insist on associating living characteristics with inanimate objects."

"It helps us to understand them and feel more comfortable interacting with them." From the monitor chart, Cally saw that the specialists had determined that Avon would be able to start rehabilitation therapy tomorrow.

"A schematic and instruction manual would serve the same purpose and be infinitely more useful."

Cally finished her reading of the monitors. "ORAC and Zen are members of the crew."

"They are useful instruments _used_ by the crew. There is a difference."

"We consider them part of the crew."

"You do." Avon said in his most impassive voice.

"Avon, after interacting with ORAC, can you seriously say that he isn't alive? He has his own personality. He wants to survive. He's too curious for his own good, or ours."

"ORAC was programmed with an interface that simulates Ensor's personality. It was programmed to protect itself. It was programmed to gather information. That does not make it alive."

"Then he's a virtual life form."

"There is no such thing unless you wish to debate the definition of life." Avon's eyes seemed to twinkle with bemused interest.

Cally was curious about something. "Avon, when is ORAC going to be fixed?"

Avon gave her a light grin at her desire to change the topic. "When we stumble across the parts for it. Unfortunately Professor Ensor didn't see fit to use components that we could buy, borrow or steal."

"Then how do you plan to find them?"

"Now, that's an interesting question."

"Avon, were you bored with what you were doing?"

"What makes you ask that?"

Cally sighed. "I only came in to see how you were and to thank you for directing us to the harmonics room."

"Was it adequate for your purposes?"

"Yes, it was perfect. I've never experienced anything like it. Thank you." She bent down and kissed him lightly. A startled Avon put his arms around her and drew her down further so that she was sitting on the edge of his bed. Cally's intention of a light expression of gratitude become something more intense. All other thoughts seemed to have been forgotten, any boredom vanished. The curative properties of a kiss were not to be dismissed.

Cally drew back after awhile and asked, "Did you know?"

"Can you be specific?"

"About the effect the crystals would have on my mind?"

"Ah." Avon let go of her and studied her face, as if he was trying to gauge her reaction.

Cally asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I suspected. I wasn't certain. I knew the crystals would react to the music on a senses level. It was meant as a surprise."

Avon had taken the idea from Vila's surprise gift for Corinne. It had seemed a good idea. It was obviously something that Vila thought Corinne would like. Avon had considered building a personal cleaning appliance for Cally but decided that imitation was for less creative minds than his own was. "I had hoped that it would help you."

"You mean with the singing?"

"Of course," he said just a little too quickly.

Cally looked at him but he did not meet her eyes. There was a hint of something in her awareness of Avon but it passed too quickly for her to be sure. "The crystals are living."

"Yes. A semblance of life. How did your mind perceive it?"

Cally's eyes seemed to focus on something distance as she recalled the memory of the room and sense impressions. "It's…hard to describe. It's living but not living at the same time."

Avon was watching her with keen attention. "Did you recognize the impressions?"

Cally eyes levelled back on him. "It reminded me of the shadow creature."

"Interesting. Nothing else?"

Cally saw that he had something specific in mind. Her mind went back to all the alien life forms they had encountered. She thought wryly that far too many of them seemed to have an interest in the psi abilities of her mind. But there was another… "The Sopron rock?"

"Yes."

Cally's brow knitted. "I'm not sure. When my mind touched the Sopron, it only reflected back a mind similar to my own."

"That is similar to what the crystals do. Except that embedded within them is a reflection of the ship. It was because of my research into the nature of the technology of the _Liberator_ that I discovered the abilities of the Sopron."

"That's why you were so interested in it?"

"Yes."

"You know, Avon, you surprised me. It wasn't until then that I realized that you weren't really interested in wealth."

"That's preposterous. Of course I am."

"But not as an object of greed."

Avon hesitated before he answered. "No. Wealth represents safety. Once I had the _Liberator_, the pursuit of wealth was no longer relevant."

"But Tarrant and Vila wanted to hijack the Kairopan."

"For Tarrant it _was_ an object of greed."

Cally cocked her head in surprise. "And for Vila?"

Avon's lips curled into a smile. "Yes. But for him it is also a challenge."

"Vila enjoys a challenge?"

"Of course. Doesn't everyone? That _is_ why you put up with me, isn't it? Because of the challenge?"

"I often ask myself that."

"Have you come to any conclusions?" Avon asked with a light teasing tone.

"Speaking of challenges, have you talked to the others about your dreams?"

Avon's eyes widened at the sudden change in topic. Cally was one of the few people who was able to catch him off-guard. "No."

"It might be a good idea."

"There's no need. We have all listened to the recordings. Further discussions will not reveal anymore than we already know."

Cally wondered if it was a basic difference between men and women that one had a tendency to discuss everything and the other hardly at all. Or was it a characteristic peculiar to the men on the _Justice_. "It's not just about knowledge, Avon."

Avon had a suspicion that he knew where this conversation was headed. "It should be."

"Doesn't it change the nature of the relationship between the four of you?"

"Knowing the past does not change the circumstances of the present."

"It has for some of them."

Avon stared at her. Cally stared back unflinchingly.

Avon asked, "You want me to ask which ones?"

"I think you already know which ones. It might be a good opportunity for you to work on improving your relationship and communication skills."

There was an automatic reluctance in Avon's eyes but he said, "I will consider it."

**********

Reya and Argus were in their cabin getting ready for the day.

Reya was adjusting her sleeves and checking herself in the mirror. "Argus, I have a concern about our plans for Chandar."

Argus tightened his belt and fastened it. "What kind of concerns?"

"It's a good plan but…"

"But?" He turned to face her.

"I think we can do better."

"You didn't mention this before."

"I know. I wasn't sure how you would take it."

Argus looked at her speculatively. "You know that I respect your ideas, Reya. What's really going on?"

Reya's eyes searched his, trying to determine how receptive he would be. "How are you getting along with Sester these days?"

Argus stiffened. "I see."

Reya found herself becoming tense. "_Now_ you know why I didn't say anything before. I had hoped that after what happened with the dreams, you would see each other differently. I know he does."

Argus bristled. "What is that supposed to mean? Did he talk to you?"

Reya placed her hand on his muscular chest; she could feel the hardness he adopted whenever his nemesis was mentioned. "Doesn't the fact that you were childhood friends mean anything to you? They all tried to save you."

"I _know_ that." Reya could feel the increased tension in his body before he turned away.

"That means Sester too. Argus, you should talk to him."

There was a reluctant look on Argus's face but Reya saw something else. There was a struggle in his eyes. He was a good man; he knew what was right even though he didn't want to do it.

Argus said, "I don't _feel_ like talking to him. You know what I think about him. I might say something…opposite… "

"Yes, I know. If you could resolve it by fighting him instead of speaking to him, you would be knocking down his door right now. Can you at least try? You know he's not going anywhere now. He's committed to us, to what we're doing. It might be good if you could at least get along. He might be a valuable resource even if you don't want to renew your friendship."

Argus said unenthusiastically, "I'll try."

"Argus, have the four of you talked about what happened with the dreams?"

"No." He wondered what was causing Reya to bring up all of this serious talk. It was so much simpler just living together, working, playing…this talking about _things, things that made him feel uncomfortable, _made him feel…very uncomfortable. He knew that she wanted to talk sometimes and he didn't mind it. Sometimes. But couldn't she give him some advance notice?

"Why not?"

_Because…we don't want to._ Argus doubted if that would be an answer that would satisfy her, but it was the truth. "It's not necessary. If it was, we would have talked about it."

Reya took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Men."

Argus gave her a sliver of a smile. "I am that."

"That was _not_ meant as a compliment."

"Are you ready?" Argus headed towards the door and Reya followed him out.

There was another topic that Reya had been trying to broach with him, the revelation that the Federation had been responsible for turning him into a killer against his will. He had been very resistant to talking about it, brushing it off as something that could not be changed. But that was a deeper issue.

Reya wondered if it would be a good idea to encourage the men to talk together. As they parted for their separate duties, Reya realized with irritation that she hadn't been able to communicate what her concern was with the plan.

**********

The three women met for breakfast. It was a little more crowded this time in the dining hall but it seemed that their regular table by the corner was still available for them. Corinne brought over a bowl of vanilla ice cream along with a big thick waffle lightly dripping in syrup and a cup of milk tea.

Cally raised her eyebrows. "You must like ice cream."

"Oh yes, it's wonderful. We don't have anything like this on Chandar. The Tellarans have something similar but…it's not quite. I like this version the best." She dug in and scooped out a generous spoonful. "Don't you like ice cream?"

"I prefer it as a dessert," said Cally as she scraped off some of the icing on her slice of coffee-tasting cake. She was trying a new item from the ship's menu and hadn't realized there would be so much of the sweet topping.

"I'm not much into sweet things," said Reya. "Except chocolate. Almost anything with chocolate will do for me."

"Oooh." Corinne's eyes lit up. "I _love_ chocolate."

Cally said with speculative amusement, "Don't tell me, Vila has been playing tour guide through the ship's dispensers?"

"How did you know?"

"He would be the best one. There are things he's tried that I haven't dared yet."

Reya nursed a cup of coffee as they talked.

Three soldiers walked by on their way out. They acknowledged the women.

"Commander."

"Doc."

"Miss."

Reya said with amusement, "They call you 'Doc' now?"

Cally shrugged. "Yes. I'm not sure when they started."

"It's fitting since you've treated most of them."

"I still have a long way to go in my studies."

"It's the actions which count. That's what matters to them," said Reya. She took another drink of her coffee and then put it down on the table. "Can I ask you something, Cally?"

"What about?"

"Has Avon talked to the others about the dreams they had?"

"No."

Reya asked, "Corinne?"

"I don't think Vila has."

Reya sighed. "Argus said that it wasn't necessary."

Cally replied, "That's Avon's position."

Corinne was puzzled, "Why won't they talk about it?"

Cally and Reya replied simultaneously, "They're men."

"Why would that make a difference?" Corinne still didn't understand. The only men she knew much about were her father and her brother. She knew that her mother and father had lengthy discussions about many things. Corinne had assumed that it was normal.

Cally explained, "Men don't feel comfortable talking about personal issues. When given a choice, they would avoid it."

"My father talks about many things with my mother."

Cally said, "My guess would be that it is your mother who initiates the conversations."

Reya added, "And your father reluctantly agrees to talk."

"I…don't know."

From the mission briefings by Marlena, Reya and Cally knew many of the conditions of women on Chandar. Women were mainly kept at home. There were times when they were allowed to go outside to visit other women, but the occasions were not often and it always had to be in the accompaniment of a man. The isolation was part of the control.

Reya was curious about this young woman. She seemed confident and intelligent but given the place she grew up, it was surprising. "Corinne, I know that you led a sheltered life on Chandar. Did you find it lonely?"

There was sadness in Corinne's eyes. "Yes. It was very. I always wished that I had a sister to talk to. My brother talked to me but he wasn't home that much after he grew older. He was able to go out and do things. He would tell me about it…but it made me wish that I could go out with him. I miss him."

Reya said, "I'm sorry we weren't able to find out who killed him."

Cally said speculatively, "It had to be part of the alien plot."

"Yes…" Reya studied the dark surface of her coffee. "Maybe this time we can find out. If we have time."

"I would like that," said Corinne.

Cally asked another question. "You seem very strong and self-assured for someone who was isolated and grew up in the atmosphere of Chandar."

"My parents helped me a lot. Especially my mother. She's very strong and she taught me to be too. We talked about everything. She taught me all the things that they teach children on Tellar. How to deal with things like anger and fear. She said that not everywhere was like Chandar."

Cally said, "Not everywhere."

Reya said cynically, "Just enough places. What else was it like for you? Were your parents and your brother the only people you talked to?"

"There was the staff at the house but they didn't talk to me much, not until much later. My parents were very careful in case I talked to the wrong people. They didn't want anyone to find out that I wasn't like the other women on Chandar."

Cally said, "It must have been nerve-wracking."

"I mainly kept to myself. Where I lived was in a separated part of the residence. It was big. My father set up an exercise area and a lab for my mother. And there was a large beautiful garden. I wasn't able to go out much but my parents made sure that I had access to all kinds of information. I could read and explore anything that I wanted to."

Cally asked, "On the computer?"

"Yes. I would look up information on all kinds of places and imagine myself there. And there were many interactive programs I could talk to."

"That's not the same as talking to people."

"No. That's true. When I was older, my parents would let me have access to the outside networks. I could talk to lots of people then but I had to be careful to pretend that I was a man. I was careful not to say too much. Sometimes I would play online games but they usually all involved killing of some kind. I didn't like those very much. I liked the building and puzzle games." Corinne felt relaxed and comfortable sharing about her life on Chandar. She liked talking to Cally and Reya. They were like the sisters she always wished she had. She found it very easy to talk with them.

Corinne had a thought. "I have an idea."

Reya asked, "What's the idea?"

"I thought that since we're having such a good time talking to each other…maybe Vila, Avon, Argus and Sester could do it too."

Cally said, "That's what we're hoping will happen eventually."

"But why not now?"

Reya and Cally saw that Corinne was excited about something. Reya asked, "How do you mean?"

"I know you said that if given a choice, they would avoid talking about it."

Cally said cautiously, "Yes…we shouldn't force them."

Reya warned, "It would only backfire if we try to force it."

"I wasn't thinking about forcing them..." Corinne thought for a bit.

Reya said jokingly, "Well, apart from putting them all in the same room and throwing away the key until they resolve it, I doubt if they'll do it willingly."

Cally remarked, "And maybe not even then."

"The same room…hmm," Corinne said thoughtfully.

A look passed between Cally and Reya. This youngster had many ideas and far too little experience. Reya asked warily, "What are you thinking?"

"Well…what if we put them in the same room and not throw away the key? And _not_ tell them anything. Just put them together in a non-threatening situation. Like…eating breakfast?"

Cally said sceptically, "You mean put them together and expect them to talk? About something significant?"

"It doesn't have to be something important," said Corinne. "It can be about anything. They have to get used to talking and relating to each other before they'll be comfortable talking about more serious things."

Reya asked, "Did you read that from a training text?"

"No. But it makes sense, doesn't it?"

Cally said, "Logically, yes. However, as Avon would say, human beings are not logical creatures. And that applies particularly to men. They will act on instinct and that instinct means that they will not talk to each other about anything personal."

Corinne looked disappointed. "I thought…it might work. It was a very important thing they found out about each other. Wouldn't they need to talk about it?"

Reya said, "There's a difference between need and want. Argus knows that he needs to talk about it. He just doesn't want to."

"Avon as well, though he refuses to admit it, even to himself."

Corinne looked thoughtful again, "So they all must have this need. Have they been alone together since the dreams happened?"

Reya said, "No."

Cally remarked, "I think they've been avoiding it."

Corinne asked, "Why?"

It was Cally's turn to look thoughtful, "I'm not sure."

Reya was pondering this as well. "Do you think…they're afraid to face each other?"

Corinne grasped on this idea. "Could it be that they know that once they're together, they will have to talk about it?"

Reya said to Corinne, "You want to try, don't you?"

Corinne said, "The worse they could do is not talk about it."

Reya turned to Cally, "What do you think?"

"I don't know. I don't think that not talking about the issue is the worse they can do to each other."

'Then we shouldn't do it," said Reya.

"On the other hand…we know they have a need to talk. There is a slim chance that that need might push the issue. Avon and Argus couldn't have any worse a relationship with Sester than they had before, barring throwing him off the ship. I doubt if they would do that now."

Reya said, "So that part of it has changed."

"Yes. It might be worth a try," said Cally.

"And we should be there just in case things get too out of hand. Now we just need to arrange to get them together."

**********

Over the next few days, as Avon became stronger and was allowed a few hours of freedom from the medical unit, he began to repair the damage done to the cleaning appliance. He steadfastly refused to call it Spot. Cally insisted that one of the military engineers help him.

The rest of the ship was still busy preparing for their Chandar mission while Argus and the leaders talked over strategy.

**********

Sester and Vila sat companionably together over breakfast. At this hour, there was hardly anyone else here. Most people had already eaten and were about their business.

Argus appeared at the entrance and hesitated as he saw Sester. His lips had an odd quiver, as he seemed to be deciding whether a frown or sneer would be appropriate, especially in the light of their newly revealed childhood memories; though he was obstinately sceptical of Sester's part in them. Reya had called it being unreasonably stubborn.

Argus decided against an unpleasant expression and just favoured him with a glare before a nod of greeting to Vila. Vila smiled and said, "Morning."

Argus walked briskly past them towards the food dispensers and quickly punched up his regular breakfast. Picking a table that was as far from Sester as possible without exiting the room, he sat down with his back towards Sester and proceeded to eat as if it was a race.

Sester picked up his mug of coffee and sipped it unhurriedly as he regarded Argus's very loud back. He remarked casually, "I'm sure it's not personal, Vila."

Vila paused in mid-toast, "Eh? What's not personal?" It was hard not to miss the message of the back and he was sure that Sester was up to some light mischief.

"I'm sure that all signs of hostility are being directed towards me. I notice that he gave you a nice smile."

"That was a smile?" Vila asked curiously. He hadn't noticed one.

"I believe that in the morning, and before his first jolt of coffee, what you witnessed was the equivalent of a very warm greeting."

"Oh. I suppose but I thought…"

"Ah…you thought that something might have changed after what happened?"

"Well, yeah." Vila bit into his piece of toast and chewed thoughtfully, wondering what the roguish psychostrategist was up to.

"Oh, something has. Hasn't it, Jack?"

Argus whirled around with a mug in his hand; both he and the coffee appeared to be steaming. On the other hand, maybe it was just an illusion of the hot liquid. He said with a tightly controlled voice that punctuated each word, "Do not call me that."

Sester grinned. "Alright."

Argus's eyes were cold. "Or I'll call you Chuck."

"My name was never Chuck," protested Sester. "It was Charles."

A half, not entirely friendly or unfriendly smile appeared on Argus's lips, "That can easily be fixed."

At that opportune moment, Avon appeared in the doorway, and like Argus, he also paused when he saw the occupants. He entered warily and asked, "What are all of you doing here?" This was the first morning that Cally had let him have a normal breakfast in the dining area rather than on a tray delivered to him in the medical unit. The last thing he wanted was for unwanted company on his first foray.

Vila said, "Morning, Avon. We're all having breakfast."

Avon's eyes narrowed and he said dryly. "Someday you might manage to tell me something less obvious, but I wouldn't hold my breath."

Vila said, "I was just trying to be friendly."

Avon said, "Some people manage to be friendly and relevant. You might try it sometime."

Vila complained, "Well, that's the last time I try to be nice."

Avon stared at him impassively, and then a grin touched his lips. "I doubt it."

Vila's eyes narrowed, "I don't believe it. Did you just pull my leg, Avon?"

"Why would I do something that distasteful?"

Sester's eyes widened and then he started laughing.

Vila turned to his breakfast partner, "What's so funny?"

Avon and Argus looked at Sester with distinctly irritated frowns. Argus said, "You know, Avon, are you sure it was really necessary to remove the tracer bracelet? It did have _other_ uses."

Sester held his formerly bracelet-adorned wrist against his chest protectively and tried to stop laughing. "Oh, no you don't."

Avon said with a tone that invited no further nonsense, "Answer Vila's question."

Sester suppressed a chuckle. "Why are you all having breakfast at this hour? Don't you all normally eat at different times? _Three_ guesses if you really need them."

Avon, Argus and Vila all looked at each other.

"Cally."

"Reya."

"Corinne."

Sester punctuated the names. "Exactly."

Argus looked at him, "Did they really have to include you?"

Sester grinned impishly, "This is _my_ normal meal time."

Vila said, "He _is_ one of the four." He had his own grin. "Even if hardly anyone likes him."

Sester said, "Thank you all for the vote of confidence. I feel very welcome now."

Argus tilted his head slightly towards Avon and said in a mock-whisper. "I wasn't trying to make him feel welcome. Did I do something wrong?"

Avon said in a deadpan tone, "Surprisingly enough…no." He asked, "Why would they do this?"

"It's obvious," said Vila.

Argus sighed and tried not to glare at the pleasantly grinning Sester. He picked up his tray and reluctantly joined the two men.

Avon watched this action with a perplexed knit of his brow. He asked Vila caustically, "Do you plan to enlighten me? Or have you picked up _his_ unsavoury habits?" Sester grinned.

Vila said, "Come on, Avon. Don't you get it? We're friends. Friends eat together sometimes. We share things and learn to get along."

Avon had a dubious look on his face. He finally came away from the door and went to the dispensers to order up some breakfast.

Sester said, "Reya, Cally and Corinne want us to spend time together so we can work out the new dynamics."

Vila asked, "Didn't I just say that?"

Argus expelled an irritated breath. "This sounds very familiar. Reya is always trying to get me to work on my relationship." He tried not to snarl as he aimed his next words at Sester. "With _him_."

There was an irritated frown on Avon's face as he waited for his food. "Cally as well."

Argus turned to him with surprise and suspicion, "Cally wants you to work on your relationship with _him_ too?"

"No." Avon paused and almost seemed embarrassed but the look passed so quickly that no one could swear to seeing it. "With everyone."

Sester said with a highly amused face, "You know gentlemen, I'm sure that working on your relationship with me, includes not using the term, _'him' _with such regularity and vigour. Did they also include some directives about communication skills?"

Avon and Argus stared at him as they both wondered worriedly if Cally and Reya had been speaking to Sester.

Avon asked suspiciously, "What do you know about that?"

If Sester looked any more amused, he would start to come off as superior, or at the very least, extremely smug. "Relationships and communication." He raised one hand and then the other as if he was holding one word in each hand. "They do have a correlation."

Avon asked abrasively as he came over with his tray of food and sat down. "Is that meant to be funny?"

Sester said, "I do believe that humour _is_ an aspect of communication. We've all been doing quite admirably, though I'm not sure this is what Cally, Reya or Corinne had in mind."

Argus asked, "Avon, do you have that bracelet handy?"

"It's not far."

Sester said pleasantly and without a bit of concern, "It would be a fascinating exercise in communication to try to explain _that_ move to Reya, don't you think?"

Argus's voice almost sounded like a disgruntled growl, "He was always this annoying, wasn't he?"

Sester grinned, "Only to you, Jack."

The growl sounded annoyed. "I told you not to call me that, _Chuck_."

Sester laughed. "Alright."

With raised eyebrows, Avon asked, "Chuck?"

Argus said, "You should try it."

Sester said, "It's not as much of a threat as you think it is."

Avon said with comprehension, "Just enough of one?"

Sester raised his hands in mock-surrender. "Alright. Alright. What are we going to do?"

Argus asked, "About what?"

"About this fascinating coincidence arranged by the women of this ship. They want us to talk to each other."

Avon remarked factually, "We are."

Vila said, "We're not really. You're just sniping at each other. It's more like…fighting than talking."

Avon and Argus looked at each other. Argus asked perplexed, "That's a form of communication, isn't it?"

Vila asked, "But would you talk that way to the Commander?"

Argus remembered his early contentious relationship with Reya. His face turned slightly red, "Well…we did at the very beginning."

Vila's ears pricked up with interest, "You did? That's hard to believe, considering…"

Argus said quickly, "I don't do that now."

Sester smirked. "You wouldn't dare."

Argus said with warning. "Watch it."

A female voice said from the open doorway, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Argus winced before he slowly stood up and turned around to see Reya leaning against the doorway and Cally and Corinne standing next to her.

The other three men also looked with alarm at their previously unnoticed audience. For some reason, they hurriedly stood up as well.

Avon's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Cally, what are the three of you doing here?"

"Can we join the four of you for breakfast?"

Cally heard Avon's mental voice asking, * _Cally, are you going to answer my question? _*

Cally sighed and looked at her two companions. "We were hoping that putting the four of you together would promote dialogue."

Sester smiled pleasantly at the three beautiful women. There was a roguish glint in his eyes as he asked, "Any dialogue in particular?"

All three women stared at him. For some reason that made him cough uncomfortably. "Of course. What else could it be?"

Avon asked, "Our supposition was correct then?"

"Partially."

Argus growled, "No one likes when you do that."

Sester grinned at him.

Cally said, "We were hoping that putting the four of you together might encourage you to talk about what happened in the dreams."

Avon remarked flatly, "One does not necessarily lead to the other."

"Or ever if they had their way," said Vila.

Avon favoured him with a glare. "I didn't see you helping matters."

"Well, I would have if someone had listened to me."

Avon stared at him. He said, "Perhaps…"

Sester added, "Or me."

Avon glared at the source of the interruption.

Argus said to Sester in a cynical tone, "You just ruined it."

Sester glanced at the three women. Then his control over his temper seemed to slip. With rising anger, he said to Argus, "I'm tired of you treating me as if I'm the enemy all the time. I was. I AM NOT NOW! We were friends once. I tried to save your miserable life." His voice became bitter, "Not that it means anything to you." The bitterness gave way to guilt. "I know I've done some things since then that…many things that I regret. I'm very sorry for what I did to Avon. I'm sorry about what happened with Reya. Neither one of us meant to hurt you. We thought you were dead and we didn't have a choice. I've done my best to make it up to you. To both of you. I don't know what else you want from me." The pleasant and casual rogue had completely disappeared from his face and was replaced by guilt and weariness.

They all stared at him in shock and then everyone's eyes turned slowly to Argus.

Argus felt as if the collar around his neck was suddenly several sizes too small. The last place he wanted to be was here. "Do we have to talk about this now?"

A quiet voice said, "Yes, you do, Jack." With astonished expressions, everyone turned to look at Avon.

Argus had a rebellious look on his face.

Avon said, "You know you have to. You cannot lead effectively until you resolve this."

There was stubborn rebelliousness in Argus's eyes but there was also a fierce struggle going on inside of him. He had an intense dislike and mistrust of Sester, but another side of him knew that Avon was right. Reya had been trying to say this to him for days. Argus wished that these decisions didn't have to be so hard. It was much easier planning complex battle strategies than to do this. He knew what he had to do.

With reluctant resignation, Argus nodded. He turned to face the still angry Sester. "You're right. It's unfair of me to continue to treat you like this. Not _entirely_ unfair but…not all the time. I'm not sure if I can ever forget what you did but we were once friends. That…does mean something. Part of what happened…was because of what they did to us. That is something I will not forget. If you're willing to work with us against our enemies, then…I would welcome your help." Argus offered his hand.

Sester looked down at the gesture. "This is not friendship."

"No." Argus waited with extended hand.

"Will it ever be possible again?"

"That depends on you."

"I suppose I deserve that. Alright." Sester grasped the offer and they shook hands. They were no longer enemies, but they were not friends yet either. Neither one of them knew what they were but for now, it didn't matter. It was a first step.

Chapter Five

When Cally arrived at the steps leading down to the flight deck, Vila was showing Corinne how to operate the force wall controls. Not wanting to intrude, she asked from the doorway, "Vila, do you know where Sester is? He's not in his cabin."

Vila looked up distractedly. "Try his observer craft. It's in inner hold number five. He likes to go there when he wants to be alone."

Cally's eyes became hard. "Or when he's contacting Servalan." The timing seemed suspicious to her.

Vila hesitated. The tone in Cally's voice was one of distrust. Despite what had happened at breakfast, it was clear that Sester was still not universally liked or accepted, least of all trusted. "Yes. I don't think he's doing that though, he's working with us now." He asked tentatively, "Cally, what are you going to do?"

"Yes, so he says. I have some questions for him. I don't expect any satisfactory answers." Cally turned on her heel and left without a word.

Vila looked after her unhappily.

Corinne asked curiously, "What was that about?"

"It's complicated."

Corinne said with mild frustration. "Why does everyone say that? It doesn't tell me anything."

"Sorry. It's…well…it's complicated."

"Can you explain it to me? Please? Why does Cally not like Sester? Is it because of Avon?"

"It has a lot to do with Avon." They both sat down on the couches. Vila felt a sense of melancholy as he recalled past events and old crewmates who were no longer with them.

"This was way back when we still had the _Liberator_. We were on a place called Terminal. Servalan had lured Avon there to rescue Blake. Except…Blake was never there. It was all a trap because Servalan wanted the _Liberator_. She left us stranded on Terminal with a broken ship. But that wasn't good enough for her." Vila's voice became angry. "She rigged explosives on the ship and the underground complex. Avon is always careful so he checked first before entering the ship. Unfortunately, the rest of us weren't as careful. Cally was in the complex when it blew. We thought she'd died. Avon went in after her but he found her dead. Her heart had stopped."

Corinne said, "But, Cally's alive now."

"Yes. I'm not sure how it all works but it has something to do with Auron physiology. Cally's body went into a coma to protect itself. It looked like she was dead unless you knew what to look for."

"So all of you thought she was dead?"

"Yes." Vila wished many things had happened differently. "When we escaped, we left Cally on Terminal. I don't know much about what happened to her after but when she woke up, we were all gone."

"That must have been very scary for her."

"Yes, it must have been. Cally was stranded for a long time. Then the Federation sent people to Terminal and found her. They took her prisoner because she was on a secret base that no one was supposed to know about. Then they dumped her on a penal colony. I think Servalan must have known she was there because she sent Sester there. He pretended to be a prisoner and got Cally to trust him. Enough to tell him things about life on the _Liberator_ and about Avon. She must have been very lonely. She'd lost her people and all her friends. And she was in a maximum-security penal colony. People don't get released from those. You stay there forever."

"How terrible." Corinne looked appalled. "Why did Servalan want information about Avon?"

Vila frowned. This was one thing about his tricky friend that was hard to forget. "She used the information…to torture Avon."

Corinne's voice rose in dismay. "Oh no!"

"Yes," Vila said unhappily. "She had Sester create dreams from the things he learned. The most terrible things. The ones that would hurt him the most. Nightmarish things. Then he would feed them into Avon's mind. Twisting them until they became tens, hundreds of times worse."

Corinne said with shock, "How could he do that to Avon? How could anyone? I thought…the Chandarans were bad. But that's…"

Vila shivered at the thought of what had been done to Avon. "Evil."

"I understand now why Avon and Cally don't like him."

"It's hard to forgive your torturer. Or someone who tricked you."

"But Sester's sorry now?"

"That's what he says."

"Don't you believe him?"

Vila turned to look at her. "It's hard to tell with him sometimes. He's very good at making people believe him."

"But do you?" Corinne asked him earnestly. Vila's opinion was important to her.

"I don't think Sester is that bad. I know he's done some horrible things. But torturing Avon was just a job for him. Servalan ordered him to do it and he did. But…I don't think he liked it much. He liked Avon and respected him. Maybe part of him recognized Avon but he didn't know it at the time. Whatever the reason, Sester couldn't hurt Avon anymore and he risked his life to rescue him. He contacted us and told us where Avon was and how to rescue him. Servalan nearly killed Sester when she found out what he did."

"Did she threaten him, do you think? Is that why he continued working for her?"

"I don't know. It would be like Servalan. But…it's hard to tell with Sester. He's always mysterious about why he does things."

"He didn't sound mysterious at breakfast."

"No he didn't, did he. Which is…mysterious in a way. For him that is. But he can be very straightforward and honest sometimes. That's how he gets people to trust him."

Corinne's brow creased again. "You mean he was trying to make us trust him before?"

"No…I mean, I don't think so. I mean, I think he was being sincere and that's how he sounds when he's being genuine. But…"

Corinne's eyes widened a bit, "Oh. He also sounds like that when he just wants to sound sincere but isn't being it?"

"Yes. That's it."

"Wow. That's…very complicated. How does anyone know if he _is_ being sincere?"

"I don't think anyone's figured that out yet."

**********

Sester leaned back in his flight chair, his eyes half-lidded in thought. A lot had happened. Childhoods revisited. Relationships revealed. The crew was coming to trust him more and more each day. Exactly as Servalan had ordered him to do. Get them to trust him and then he could more effectively betray them when the time was right.

His jaw tightened at the thought. The work of a psychostrategist was not supposed to be like this.

Unfortunately, for him, he was far more than just a psychostrategist. He didn't just understand the mechanisms of human interaction; he was very good at using them. Only a few like him were allowed in the Guild. It was far too dangerous to give a deep understanding of human behaviour to someone who could so effectively use it. Not unless you could control him. Sester had been groomed from childhood; very carefully controlled and monitored. His mentor had been a hard taskmaster.

However, everything had been turned upside down. He had betrayed the trust of the Guild. He had disobeyed Servalan's orders. He was actively working against the interests of his employer.

Slowly but surely, ever since he made the decision to risk his life and his career to save Avon, his course had been set. He recognized it now. All the disparate threads coming together, and now culminating in the revelations of childhood dreams. Sester didn't believe in fate but what was happening had been inevitable.

They were all decisions based on feelings that he had not understood until now. Sester wasn't like Avon; he did attach great important to sentiment. They were his stock and trade after all.

Without emotions, humanity was not as easily manipulated. Nevertheless, he was supposed to view them with detached consideration. To see them as important, but more as a tool, a weakness to be used or a strength to be exploited. His own emotions were supposed to be a minor luxury, something to be put aside when he was doing his job.

But what happens when it was no longer a luxury?

Sester was under no illusions that being accepted by the crew would solve anything for him. In fact, things were infinitely more complex now. He could not simply cut ties to Servalan. It would not be a wise move for any of them. Servalan was too useful and far too vindictive for that kind of step to be taken.

The thought of dealing with Servalan made him ill. The things he had done to Avon, the things he had forced him to do, had been on her behalf.

Did Servalan know? Had she been aware that she was setting one friend on another? Had she watched with delight at his cruelty? Did it make her feel good to see Avon mindlessly recoil in terror from him after the treatments had stripped his mind beyond all reason?

Sester's fist clenched tightly, digging his nails into his palms at the memories. He would never be able to forget. The images were forever burned into his mind, making him ill every time he closed his eyes, condemning him.

There were other details that were calling out to him. Odd occurrences. Inconsistencies. Coincidences. His psychostrategist's instinct was telling him that this was not over. There were some things that…

"What did you tell Servalan?" a harsh female voice asked from behind him.

Sester eased the tight grip of his fist. A pleasant mask fell over his features again by the time he twisted around in his flight chair to say, "Cally, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Don't waste your act on me." Cally stood behind his chair, forcing him to continue to turn awkwardly in order to look up at her. She said, "I know your tricks. They won't work on me, not anymore."

Sester sighed. "I wasn't trying to trick you, Cally. What would my purpose be?"

"I'm sure you have one," said Cally sarcastically. "Just like you had a purpose with that little act in the dining hall."

"It wasn't an act."

"With you everything is an act."

Sester reflected that it was even harder to reach Cally at times than the two men were. "I admit that my actions were deliberate, but what I did wasn't an act. It is how I feel."

He could see the sceptical reaction in her eyes. His back was feeling the strain of having to twist around to talk to her.

Cally said, "I knew it. How deliberate?"

"I saw what the three of you were trying to do. You, Reya and Corinne. It wasn't the best way to do it and it wasn't working, so I decided to help you. I gave you what you wanted."

"At great benefit to yourself. Argus is open to trusting you. I know Vila already does. How can I not believe that you had an ulterior motive?"

"I can't deny that my own position improved because of what happened, though obviously not with you. But just because my actions caused them to trust me, doesn't mean that I wasn't being sincere."

"That remains to be seen," said Cally. She gave him a last warning before she left, "Don't make a mistake. I will be watching you."

**********

Sester sent out his personal contact signal to Servalan's private channel and waited. His fingers idly traced the edge of the panel in front of him. The slightly bumpy texture beneath his fingers helped to focus his mind on the present. An old trick he used. There were far too many personal distractions these days. He needed something to centre his mind.

The others had not asked him to do anything about Servalan yet. They were most likely too preoccupied to think of the possibilities. None of them had his well-honed instincts.

It was just as well. He was used to acting independently.

The female computer voice reported, "Channel established."

Sester sat up. "Put it onscreen, computer."

From a dark nothingness, the screen changed to the superior face of Servalan. She asked impatiently, "You have something to report?"

Sester had many questions to ask of this woman but now was not the time. Too much would be revealed in those questions.

Sester assumed his normal pleasant manner. "Madame President. How do you know that this isn't a social call and I just missed the sound of your voice?"

Servalan said imperiously, "You wouldn't dare contact me unless you could make it worth my while. I do not like people who waste my time."

"Have I ever wasted your time, Madame President?"

Servalan said with a chill, "I do not recommend making this a first time."

Sester gave her a disarming grin. "I wouldn't dream of it. I thought you might want to know that the Tellarans are able to repair the damage that was done to Avon's heart."

"How?" Servalan could barely contain the excitement in her voice.

"I wasn't apprised of all the technical details but he should have a fully functional heart by the time they're finished."

"That's excellent news. Are they able to do anything else for him."

"They might but at the moment we're on our way back to Chandar."

"That distasteful place? Why? I thought they had already taken care of the alien threat there."

Sester said with deliberate casualness, "They're about to change Chandar society."

"What? Those were not my instructions. Explain."

Sester's fingers lightly traced the edge of the flight panel. "Apparently they seem to think that you're not the one giving the orders. Rather short-sighted of them."

Servalan did not look pleased.

Sester said quickly, "They are about to set about changes that will improve the status of women on Chandar."

Servalan's eyes indicated her interest. "In what way?"

Sester smiled inwardly. He was well aware of Servalan's experiences with the Fifth Legion on Sardos. She would not have forgotten easily. "I imagine any change would be considered an improvement."

"Yes…" Servalan said speculatively. "The right kind of changes. Perhaps I can provide some assistance."

"Madame President, the women of Chandar have lived in slavery for hundreds of years. Do you think that an application of force will change the situation on anything other than a superficial level? What Argus and the others are proposing to do is to change their society. To change how the men view the women. Even if you arm all the women on the planet, all that would do is make the men consider the women even more of a threat to their male-dominated culture. What the _Justice_ crew is after is change on a more fundamental level."

Servalan's eyes narrowed. "You're helping them."

Sester was not about to let Servalan know that the Tellaran's had their own psychostrategists. He pointed out, "You did want them to trust me. I didn't think this would be against your personal interests. That is what you pay me for."

Servalan said, "Sometimes I wonder if you need a reminder. Very well. Continue what you're doing, but keep me informed."

Sester grinned. "Your wish is my command."

Servalan cut the comm link. As the screen went black, Sester continued thinking. That would take care of Servalan for a while. And he had ensured that she would leave Chandar alone. At least for now. He had kept her attentions away from the Tellar Union, except on a positive level. In her mind their function was to help Avon. She would not interfere with that. And…

A slow delighted smile spread across Sester's face. One of accomplishment. He had introduced some ideas that might be useful and in a way that Servalan had a vested interested in. Only time would tell how useful it might be.

Sester got up from his flight chair and left his ship.

**********

After his shift, Vila went to visit Avon in the medical unit. He knew that Avon couldn't stand having his movements restricted and not being part of the important activities on the ship. Cally steadfastly refused to have any stresses put on him until the Tellaran doctors had cleared him for active duty. The only thing she had allowed him to work on was fixing Spot.

When Vila arrived, it was to the sound of arguing voices, Avon and Cally having a disagreement.

Cally said, "Avon, you can wait two more days."

The ill-tempered look on Avon's face said that he didn't think it was necessary.

Vila didn't want to intrude. "I…should come back later. You look busy."

Cally waved him in. "You have perfect timing, Vila. _You_ can look after Avon. I have something else to do."

After she left, Vila said, "She cares about you, you know. You should give her a break."

Avon was still staring at the doorway that Cally had exited from. "If I was looking for advice…it would not be from you."

Vila realized Avon was about to transfer his ill humour onto him. "Maybe you should. I bet Cally would be much happier."

"I doubt it." Avon swung the computer unit back over his bed. He asked brusquely, "What do you want?"

Watching Avon with the computer, Vila asked, "I thought you weren't supposed to be working yet?"

Avon gave him a steely glare. "I'm not. It's a complete waste of my time."

Vila grinned with understanding. "Oh, you're working on Spot."

"The cleaning appliance."

Vila leaned over to look at what Avon was doing. "Those are the schematics for the 'bot?"

Avon went back to working on the computer. "Don't you have something less annoying to do?"

Vila looked more carefully at the screen. "What are you doing?"

"I'm improving the design."

Vila asked suspiciously, "How?"

Avon gave him a mischievous, lop-sided grin. "It's a surprise."

Vila wondered if it had been a good idea to have Avon anywhere near Spot. "Uh…it's not going to suddenly blow up, is it? I don't think Corinne would like that."

Avon turned his head to give him a long stare before saying, "No." He went back to what he was doing.

That didn't give Vila any more confidence. "Avon…"

"Relax, Vila. I promise you that it will not harm _Corinne_ in any way."

"Alright," Vila said waveringly. He watched Avon work for a few minutes, trying to understand what he was doing. Avon seemed to be working on the programming for the 'bot now. It was like an alien language of symbols for Vila. He gave up and asked, "Avon, what do you think of Sester now? I mean, after everything that's happened? Did you believe what he said?"

Avon's fingers paused for a moment and then he continued working. "You obviously do."

"Well…more than before. But I want to know what you think."

"He has always been a trouble-maker."

"So you do believe that he was our friend when we were children?"

"It's a fact that cannot be dismissed. As much as I would like to."

"But do you believe that he's working for us now?"

"For his own reasons."

"Does that mean that you still don't trust him?"

"I didn't say that."

Vila looked puzzled. "You mean, you _do_ trust him?"

"I trust that he has personal reasons for cooperating. Within those reasons, I trust him. But don't be fooled, Vila, Sester has always had his own agenda for doing anything."

"So you trust him, but only as far as you can throw him? Which at the moment isn't very far. "

"Crude but accurate."

"Avon, is that what you think of all of us? Even me?"

This time, Avon stopped what he was doing, pushed the computer away from him and turned to look at Vila. "Everyone has an agenda. It's part of being alive. None of us can avoid it, but I trust you much more than I trust him."

"I suppose that's something. What about Cally?"

The way Avon stared at him, Vila wondered if he had gone too far. Avon seemed a bit more open to sharing but Vila knew that the windows of opportunity were usually very small. Had he asked something too personal? Did Avon consider it too much of an invasion of his need for privacy?

Avon said, "We know each other." He looked at the empty doorway. "Perhaps you're right. I should…stop giving her a hard time."

"Well, anytime you need more brilliant advice, you know where to look."

Avon fixed him with a glare, but not too seriously. "Don't let it get to your head."

Vila grinned.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Six

Athol Prime.

Jenna was glad to be here again. She was looking forward to seeing Olean Rane. The old grizzled soldier was a comforting bulwark of unchangeability and reliability.

As Jenna entered the murky inn, sharp smells of ale and aromatic meat stew greeted her nostrils. With a richly filled credit marker in her pocket, she could have afforded much finer fare but those places didn't have the person she was looking for.

Jenna found a corner table and sat so she could watch both the exit and the busy bar. She ordered a medium serving of spicy stew and a mug of ale to wash it down. The inn was a noisy place but not too boisterous. Just a bunch of energetic people in varying stages of relaxation or drunkenness. It was far more civilized than most of the places that she'd had to frequent in her search for Avalon among the mining colonies.

The empty table across from her caught Jenna's attention. It seemed to be waiting for an occupant. Jenna had a feeling of melancholy. The last time she was here, Cally had been with her.

Jenna sighed sadly. Revenge was proving to be a lonely business. Cally and Vila, the closest people she had left to family, didn't agree with what she was doing. And once her vengeance was completed, she would be lucky if her friends didn't become her enemies.

Jenna was tired. If it weren't for her responsibility to avenge Blake's death, she might have considered staying with Captain Atton. It was very tempting. Being back in her old life had brought memories of a time when she lived without burdens or obsessions. Sometimes when the crew had scored a big cargo and she participated in the celebrations, she could almost forget that she had been a rebel, could forget that her life had become one of blood.

She was obsessed. Jenna recognized the symptoms only too well. She had watched the same ones slowly destroy a man she loved. The blindness, the narrowing of vision, the tendency to her push herself beyond all endurance and the almost-violent need that robbed her of sleep and plagued her days with headaches.

She had to win. She had to kill Avon. Had to destroy the traitor in the most painful way possible. Jenna wanted to look into Avon's eyes as the life drained away from his body.

A quick death was too good for him. She had to make him suffer first. She wanted to see the horror in his face before she allowed him to die.

Jenna's hand tightened around the mug of ale, as if its cylindrical body was Avon's neck. She squeezed it tighter and tighter as she ran through her plans for vengeance.

"He's ready to see you."

Jenna looked up in alarm and saw Lelea, the owner of the bar.

The full-bodied woman looked at Jenna curiously. Jenna relaxed her grip on the mug. "Thanks. How is he doing?"

"Tired." The woman took a cloth that was draped over her shoulder and brushed off a minute speck of dust on the table. This was a clean establishment.

"Oh? A little too much partying last night?" Jenna asked lightly. She knew Olean Rane. He was a serious man, a soldier of the old school. He worked hard and played hard. And he liked his ale.

Lelea nodded to a patron who had called her name. "I'll be right over. Hold your pants and I mean that. I will have none of that here." Several of the people around them roared with laughter. She turned to Jenna and said with a concerned voice. "He's worried."

"But I thought…"

Lelea lifted a finger to her lips to indicate that discretion was needed. "You'd better talk to him, he'll fill you in. I'm glad you're back at any rate. He always liked you. It'll give him one less thing to worry about."

Lelea nodded. "Speaking of which, keep a close hand on your credit markers and watch your back. There've been lots of snatcher activity since you were last here."

"I always watch my back. Occupational hazard," said Jenna.

"Well…watch it even more. It's not as safe as it used to be."

Jenna said wryly, "Safe is a relative term these days."

"Yeah. He's in the back. You know where." With a last whisk of her cloth on the table, Lelea moved off to tend to other customers.

**********

When Jenna entered Olean Rane's suite, she was shocked by how much he had aged. The last time she had visited, he was still the strong soldier, the man who had been the chamberlain to the toughest warlord this side of the Federation. Now, he looked every one of his seventy-odd years.

"Come in, Jenna." A smile brightened Rane's face. "It's good to see you again. It's been a long time."

"Too long, old soldier." Jenna sat down.

"Yes…too long. How have you been doing?"

"Busy." Jenna wasn't prepared to tell him everything yet.

"I was surprised that you'd left the _Justice_."

Jenna asked warily, "You know about that?"

Rane tilted his head to study her. "Not a lot. Just that you weren't with them when they came back here."

Jenna nodded slowly. "I had heard that Ellis was defeated. The crew came back to help?"

"Yes. They were very helpful." Rane could tell that something wasn't quite right. "What happened, Jenna?"

Jenna asked, "They didn't say anything?"

"No."

"It's nothing you have to worry about. I decided that I would be better pursuing my own path."

Rane wondered if it had anything to do with Argus and the woman that he was obviously attached to. He remembered that Jenna had been interested in Argus. If another woman had gotten in the way… Rane decided that it wasn't any of his business. "Alright. What brings you to see an old soldier? It can't be my good looks." He grinned. "Not anymore."

Jenna grinned, "I wasn't about to say anything…but I'm sure that women find other things attractive about you."

Rane said with mock-sincerity, "I certainly hope so."

"You really haven't changed at all, have you?"

They both laughed. The old soldier asked, "What can I do for you?"

Jenna reached into her pocket. She drew out a piece of paper with the name that she had obtained from the red vials in the hidden cargo compartment. Her search through the ship's computers had resulted in nothing. "I was wondering if you could get someone to find out what this is."

Rane took the paper from her and read it. His eyes widened. "Where did you get this from?"

**********

Reya asked Cally and Corinne for late afternoon tea in her cabin. She had arranged a nice assortment of light pastries and cakes along with a pot of hot tea, with milk and sweetener.

Cally and Corinne loved the spread and the effort she had made, making delighted noises the moment they entered the cabin. They immediately sat down and began passing the various items around, making comments on what they liked the most and sharing different tastes.

Cally commented, "To be honest, this is the last thing I would have expected you to do."

"To be honest, it's the last thing I expect _myself_ to do too." Reya smiled uncertainly. It was an odd expression, very different from her normally strong and assured personality. "I wanted to try something…different…from my regular self. Something that didn't have to do with being a soldier."

Cally studied Reya with interest. "What brought this on?"

Reya looked almost embarrassed. "I've never had women friends before. Girlfriends."

Corinne said, "Me neither. Actually…I've never had any friends before I met all of you."

Reya gave her a friendly smile. "I suppose that makes two of us. But…you seem to have fewer problems with…being female…feminine."

Corinne's brow slightly knitted in thought. "Well, I had my mother's example. She's a woman."

There was a flicker of pain in Reya's eyes. "Yes, that must be it." She fell silent.

Corinne asked innocently, "Didn't you have a mother? I mean, I know you must have had one biologically. But…"

Reya was reluctant to talk about her past. She had buried her past a long time ago and intended it to stay that way. The last thing she had intended for this afternoon tea was to go into her own personal life.

It was true that she'd never had girlfriends before. She was glad that it wasn't too late. The times she shared with Cally and Corinne was becoming very special to her. It was why she had made a special tea. The two women gave her the confidence to explore a side of herself that she'd never had the courage to before. Their growing friendship required a personal level of trust and openness. Cally had told them about the grief that haunted her life and Corinne had shared about her isolated upbringing. Perhaps it was her turn.

Reya began hesitantly, "My mother…died shortly after I was born." Her breath caught in her throat as half-buried pains and sadness surfaced. "I never knew her."

Corinne reached out and touched her hand in sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"It…was a long time ago." Reya had always wanted to believe that if her mother had not died, everything would have turned out differently. But then, she would never have met Argus or made these friends.

Normally Cally only sensed Reya as a vague presence of strength. Now, as Reya shared about her past, Cally could feel long suppressed emotions struggling to be given expression. Faint feelings, always lurking beneath, suddenly became very strong. She knew that no matter how much Reya had wanted to fool herself that her past was buried, it governed everything about her. It made her into the woman she was today.

Corinne asked, "Were you always a soldier?"

For Reya, that word brought mixed feelings and memories of her father. "Yes."

Cally found this interesting. "Were you ever interested in being anything else?"

"It was never…a matter of wanting anything else."

Cally asked, "You mean that someone forced you to be one?"

"No…nothing like that." Reya fell silent. It would have been nice if someone had cared enough to want her to be anything, even against her will. "My father was a warlord, a powerful one. Feltar Reve. He ruled the Athol Territories with a hard fist. He respected strength, power, loyalty and little else."

There was a concerned look on Corinne's face. "That sounds a bit like…Chandar."

"There are similarities, but women were never treated like slaves. Their roles weren't considered that important but women had the same standing as men in terms of justice and the law. My father was a fair man, even if he was a hard one." But that fairness never seemed to extend to her.

Cally was receiving some very mixed impressions now that Reya was thinking about her father. Love and pain. Anger and admiration. Insecurity and rebellious strength. And a terrible loneliness. "Reya, what happened with your father? How did you end up being a soldier?"

Reya hesitated; this touched something very deeply personal. She wasn't sure she was ready to share about her relationship with her father.

Cally and Corinne were looking at her with expectation. They had no idea what they were asking. What would they think of her if she told them? Reya needed the tough image. Would they think any less of her if they knew?

These women had both taken the chance to reveal some very personal things about themselves. It had been an expression of trust and friendship.

Cally said with compassion, "You don't have to tell us. I know it's difficult for you."

Difficult? Nothing was too difficult for her…except this. Reya was angry with herself. Why could the others do this and not her? Did she trust them? She liked to think that she did. Were they her friends? She knew that they were hers, but was she enough of theirs to make herself vulnerable? Did she have to maintain her façade of strength with them? Was it just selfishness that she had to be strong all the time? Or was she afraid?

No. That couldn't be it. She was not afraid of anything. But…what was she feeling then? "I…it's…"

Corinne had a puzzled expression on her face and also one of concern. She could see that it was hard for the older woman. "You don't have to be afraid. We won't tell anyone."

Reya automatically responded with a strong, "I'm not afraid. I'm…" Reya suddenly stopped. She realized that she was lying to herself. If she denied this, then she was running away from the truth, running away from...herself. It _was_ fear.

Had she really been running away all of her life when she thought she had been facing life head-on and fighting? The warrior in her refused to accept this. She had been able to overcome everything life had thrown at her, she could do this too.

These were her friends. They meant a great deal to her. They deserved this step of faith from her.

When she resumed speaking, it was in a quiet voice. "My father…hated me. From the day I was born."

Corinne was shocked. Her mother and father had always loved and protected her. It was hard for her to imagine parents who didn't. "That can't be true, can it?"

"Not for you maybe. My father never wanted anything to do with me. At best, he ignored me. My older brothers tried to be nice to me to make up for it, but they were usually off fighting battles or on some mission for my father. I was taken care of by the servants." Reya's voice became tight. There was shame and anger. "The ones that felt sorry for me."

Corinne still found it hard to understand. "That's terrible."

Reya shook her head. "No. I don't let it bother me. I owe a great deal to Healer Garett. He tried to step in when he could and made sure I was taken care of. He was more like a father to me than my real one."

Corinne was a little relieved. "I'm glad you had him."

"Yes. I will always be grateful to him." Reya paused as she remembered the old Healer who had been so kind to her. "For a long time, I thought my father didn't want me because I wasn't good enough. Or I had done something wrong to make him hate me. Or I was a disappointment. I came up with all kinds of reasons. Then…I saw that he loved my brothers. They were all soldiers; his pride and joy."

Cally said with understanding, "That's why you thought you had to be like them?"

"Yes. I thought that it was because I wasn't a boy. A soldier. I studied hard and tried to be as good as my brothers. I was better at shooting than any of them. I could hold my own in a fight. I wasn't as strong, but I was fast and smart. But…my father rarely paid any attention. When he did…it was only to yell at me and tell me to get out out of his sight."

Cally asked, "Did he ever tell you why he treated you like that?"

"No. When I grew older, I tried to find out. I asked my brothers, Healer Garett, anyone who was willing to talk to me. I thought it might have been because of my mother. But…they all said that my mother and father loved each other. They never did anything to hurt each other. My father sat with her for days after I was born. While she was dying. He refused to leave her side even after she was gone. My father's chamberlain was the only one who could reach him. My father had me taken away from the room. It was as if…he couldn't stand the sight of me after she died."

Cally said in a mystified voice, "Then that doesn't make any sense. If he loved your mother, and nothing bad happened between the two of them, why would he treat _you_ like that?"

"I don't know. No one seemed to know. All they said was that I had her eyes. After awhile, I stopped asking."

Corinne wasn't sure she liked Reya's father. "Is that when you became a soldier?"

"Yes. I thought that if I could make myself into someone he could respect or someone he could use, then he would notice me. I decided to be like my brothers in everything. I joined the military. It was…very hard. There are no women in the Athol military. My father laughed when he found out what I was trying to do, told me not to bother. However, I was stubborn; I was determined to show him that he was wrong about me. He let me try, but only because he expected me to fail and give up." Reya's voice had become hard. "I didn't give up. I became a sharpshooter. A security expert. I excelled at everything I did."

Reya was a person who refused to be beaten no matter what happened. She could have allowed the circumstances of her life bring her down, but instead she chose to fight. If her father refused to acknowledge her, then she would make everyone else see that she was of value. She would stand tall and proud, a woman amongst the men. Not a weaker member who was tolerated and humoured but someone who was respected. Her anger drove her. And an unconscious desire to seek the approval of someone who would always hate her.

She refused to be someone to be pitied.

Corinne asked, "Did he love you then?"

Reya looked at her. "No. He never did, but by then it didn't matter anymore. I understood that nothing I did would ever make a difference to him. I became a soldier. For me. Not for him. I didn't know how to do anything else and I had become very good at it. I didn't have anything else." Reya had a wry smile on her face. "It made my father angry that I'd succeeded against his expectations. And I started standing up to him. I refused to back down and I became very cynical and outspoken about many things. He didn't like that at all."

Cally said with understanding, "But at least, he was taking notice of you."

Reya hesitated, and then she chuckled. "I suppose he did. I made it hard for him not to. I made him very angry at times."

Corinne said, "I'm glad you did. He doesn't sound a very nice man."

Reya stared at her a long time before answering. She could have hated her father. She was certainly angry enough at him for treating her the way he did but…she realized that she had never hated him. "He…was my father."

Cally was aware of the undercurrent in that statement. She said perceptively, "You still wished he loved you."

A stab of emotional pain pierced Reya. This was the one thing that hurt the most. No matter how tough she became, how many times she had stood up to her father, she was still the lonely little girl who desperately wanted her father to love her.

Tears threatened to form at the corners of Reya's eyes but she fought them off.

Reya Reve does not cry. "It's too late."

Cally could sense her struggle. "Reya, crying is not a sign of weakness."

Reya straightened her back and tried to be strong. She had long replaced the tears with a hard shell and a cynical attitude. It was a comforting mask that hid the vulnerability she had not dared show as she was growing up.

Cally put her hand on Reya's arm. "You don't have to be like the men. They think that showing this kind of emotion is a sign of weakness, but it isn't. It only shows that they are unable to bear the emotional pain, so they try to dismiss it or deny it."

Corinne put her hand on Reya's other arm. "Reya, you don't have to be afraid."

Reya reacted instantly, "I'm not afraid. I…"

Cally said gently, "You've fought all your life and you've also tried to bury the pain of what was done to you. But burying it means that you will never be free of it, Reya. It will always be there, underneath, threatening to come to the surface. Just as it has done today. I can feel it in you. I've always been aware of it. If you want to put the pain behind you, you have to face it. Even if it means acknowledging that it hurts. Are you strong enough to do that, Reya? Are you willing to finally let it to go?"

Despite her own efforts to prevent it, tears began streaming down Reya's face.

**********

In the meantime, the four men were in the medical unit. Vila had told Argus and Sester that Avon really needed to feel part of things and that this would help. They had both reluctantly agreed. The reticence was not because of Avon, whom they were more than willing to help. The two men eyed each other warily as they spoke to Avon.

Everyone noticed that Argus was trying very hard to at least be civil to Sester, with varying degrees of success. Argus was becoming increasingly irritable, which Sester found highly amusing.

Sester remarked with all seriousness, "It's going to be interesting."

Argus's eyes narrowed. "What's going to be interesting?"

"I was wondering how you were going to handle being in the background while the women take the lead."

Vila piped up, "I've got a pool going if anyone's interested." There was a twinkle in his eyes.

Argus frowned, "Let me get this straight. You're all betting on this?"

Vila said with a straight face, "Well, just the soldiers…and me."

"Vila!" Sester exclaimed with mock-outrage. "You didn't tell me?"

Vila asked, "I didn't know psychostrategists were into that kind of thing…but…I'm not sure we should let you. You probably already know."

Sester glanced at Argus and smirked. "I probably do."

Argus glared at him. "No you don't. I have no problems at all with Reya or any of the women leading."

Avon, who had been observing this performance with a completely unamused face, asked, "_Can you_ play a secondary role?"

Argus looked at him with an expression that clearly said, _not you too_. He really didn't understand why everyone seemed to think that he would have a problem with this. When Reya had approached him with the idea, he had seen the need immediately and agreed with her ideas. It wasn't to say that he didn't have some reservations, but only because he was concerned about her. It was a risk. But Reya had thought it was worth it. Argus supported her. He knew that she was more than capable.

Avon stared back at him and then a slight smile appeared on his face. The others started laughing.

Argus said with consternation, "I see. Whose idea was this?"

Vila chuckled. "You should have seen the look on your face."

Argus said, "I'm outraged, Vila. I think I might need to assign you a few more rotations on the flight deck."

Vila said, "Then I'm going to have to lodge a complaint about cruel and unusual punishment."

Avon remarked dryly, "You consider any kind of work as cruel and unusual punishment."

Vila grinned. "Speaking of cruel and unusual punishment, _Avon_, have you finished with Spot?"

Avon clapped his hands twice. They all turned to look as Spot came rolling into the room and stopped next to Avon's bed. "Yes, master?"

"Avon…you didn't!"

Chapter Seven

Sester left his cabin and was headed for the gym. Not to exercise. He was looking for some amusement and wanted to see if Argus was working out there.

Reya, Cally and Corinne appeared at the end of the corridor, headed in his direction. They looked very determined. After his delightful conversation with Cally in his ship the other day, he wondered if he should be running the other way. Of course, Sester was not the kind of man to run away from three beautiful women. It was a weakness.

He was looking for a diversion though. Two women who could flatten him if he misbehaved and one who was innocent and inexperienced might prove entertaining.

He slowed and waited for them to reach him. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure, ladies?"

Corinne said to the other two women, "He _seems_ very nice. Are you sure he isn't?"

Sester had a friendly expression on his face. "Cally, what _have_ you been telling impressionable young minds about me?"

Cally was not amused. "The truth. You should try it sometime."

A roguish grin appeared on his face. "What can I do for you?"

Reya said, "We'd like you to do something for us."

Sester cocked his head and eyed them mischievously. "Are you sure you can trust me?"

Cally said icily, "You keep _saying_ that we can."

"And you want me to prove that they are more than just words? Would you believe me then, Cally?" He ended with a clear tone of challenge.

Cally said, "I might consider it."

A cynical grin appeared on Sester's face. "Now who should try the truth?"

Cally glared at him.

Corinne was confused. She thought that they were here to obtain Sester's help. It was hard for her to see how that could be possible if they continued treating Sester like this.

Reya was wondering if it would have been a better idea to ask Cally to bow out of this endeavour. This was turning out to be more of a confrontation than a solicitation of help. She said, "At least she won't think any less of you. Isn't that right, Cally?"

Cally stared Sester with steely eyes as she said, "That much is true."

Sester suppressed a smile and refrained from saying what he knew that they were both thinking. Instead, he said pleasantly, as if they had come to an agreement, "Then what would you like me to do for you?"

Reya said, "Argus has not included you in the planning for Chandar."

"You must think that's not a good idea."

Cally muttered, "Some of us do."

Sester glanced briefly at her with amusement and then said, "Reya, the Tellarans have their own psychostrategists on the team."

Reya said, "I know, but _you_'_re_ the one who achieved the success on Chandar before. It was your plan that worked."

Sester said, "I'm sure that the Tellaran psychostrategists would've been able do just as well if they had been there."

Cally's eyes narrowed at this untypical display of humility. She said with great sarcasm, "How could they? None of them are _top psychostrategist's_ as you are."

Reya cut off any further snide remarks from either one of them and said, "The Tellarans don't think they could have. Their head psychostrategist, Cambrin, was very impressed with what you did. Will you help us?"

"Are you sure that Argus would agree? He might see it as a threat. He _might_ think that I'm undermining his authority."

Corinne spoke up, "We don't want to do that. We just want you to help."

Reya said, "We thought it best to let you know first."

Sester chuckled. "I see."

Cally said with aggravation, "I fail to see the humour in that."

"That's because you don't see as a psychostrategist."

The look on Cally's face said that she would rather die first.

Sester said, "Given Argus's communication skills where I'm concerned, you were afraid that he wouldn't be able to obtain my help. You wanted to make sure that he did, no matter what he said. Am I correct?"

Reya nodded. "You're right. But whether he agrees to work with you or not, rests with him and Avon."

Sester said, "You know that you have my cooperation. Are you sure you'll get his?"

Cally asked with suspicion, "You're not concerned about Avon? Only Argus?"

"Avon recognizes my value as a psychostrategist. He does not let emotions affect his judgement in that respect. You should know that."

Cally did not look pleased at this criticism.

Reya said with warning, "I do not want you to manipulate Argus."

"But it would be very easy. He would never know."

"_I mean it, Sester._"

Sester looked into her determined face. There were no doubts as to her seriousness. "Very well. Now, what sort of plans did you have in mind?"

Corinne was mystified by Sester. She couldn't understand how he could know some things without being told them. "How did you know that we already had some ideas?"

"If you didn't, you wouldn't be coming to me. My guess is that the current plans are good but you think that they could be much better. And that is where I come in."

Cally said harshly, "Don't flatter yourself."

"I believe it was _you_ who came to _me_," Sester pointed out.

Reya said, "We did have some ideas."

Sester said, "Then why don't we go somewhere a little more comfortable to discuss this? I seem to have trouble with conducting business in corridors."

He glanced suggestively at Reya, causing her to say hastily, "Yes, of course."

**********

Olean Rane read the chemical name on the piece of paper Jenna had handed to him. He seemed to have received a jolt the moment he recognized it. "Where did you get this from?"

Jenna asked warily, "Is something wrong?"

Rane waved the paper with tight anger, "This is what's wrong! This…_drug_! We've been trying to stem an epidemic!"

Jenna sat up in alarm. "An epidemic?!" She remembered Fosforon and Casarus only too well.

Rane said reassuringly, "Not that kind of epidemic. As long as you don't take this." He waved the piece of paper again.

Jenna's eyes followed the paper. "What is this?"

Rane was not to be denied. "You haven't answered my question yet. Where did you get this name from? Most people only know it by its street name, not its chemical formula."

Jenna hesitated. Rane was a good friend, but how would he react if he knew that she had been involved in smuggling this obviously dangerous substance in. He seemed very angry already about this drug.

She said smoothly, "I still have sources."

Rane's eyes became less hard. "Of course. From the days when you were trying to set up a rebel base here. Sorry for suspecting you, Jenna. But this…" He waved the paper angrily again. "…has become a real danger to our people." Rane said with frustration, "I…haven't been able to get much sleep lately. It seems like…not matter what we do, we can't stop people from taking it. And once they do…" He shook his head sadly.

Jenna's deception made her feel hypocritical even as she said sympathetically, "Tell me what's happening."

Rane's voice was taut with tension and anger. "We thought that when we won against Ellis and the alien plot, we would be able to go back to normal." He gave a cynical bark of laughter. "We were wrong. Are you familiar with Shadow?"

Jenna wasn't sure she was going to like what Rane was going to say. "Are you saying that this is Shadow?"

"No. But something very similar to it. People call it Shade. Several years ago, there was a severe drop in the Shadow supply."

Jenna started but Rane was too involved in his explanation to notice.

He said, "Supply became scarce. Whatever was left was being sold at exorbitant prices. Ordinary people couldn't afford it. They became desperate. Violent. People died because of withdrawal. Once you take it, there is no cure from Shadow. You have to keep taking it and eventually even that kills you. This…" Rane held up the paper. "…is very similar to Shadow but it uses a different base compound. It can serve as a Shadow-substitute. The criminals who developed this drug had been hoping to wrestle control from the Terra Nostra. But of course, they weren't powerful enough to defeat them. That was when Shade made its first appearance."

Jenna said, "They obviously didn't give up."

Rane scowled. "They did for along time. No one dared buy from them as long as the Terra Nostra was in power. However, that all changed with the alien invasion and the destruction of Star One. The Outer Colonies are where the Terra Nostra has the most power. Without the communications channels controlled by Star One, they became vulnerable. There were territorial battles with other criminal organizations. The people who created Shade, being one of them. An increasing number of people have been taking Shade in the Outer Worlds. And now it has spread to this Sector."

Jenna was very interested in this. She remembered that Blake had tried to ally with the Terra Nostra so that he could use their men, material and information in the rebellion. He had been willing to become a dealer in Shadow in order to force them into helping him.

A memory of Blake's voice came to her. _That will make us winners...That's the only excuse for fighting. _

His voice bolstered her resolve, as it always did.

There was a time when Shadow was the one thing she had refused to deal in. But she had learned. _There are some things worth fighting for. You taught me that, Blake. We can't let anything stand in the way of doing something that is right…like killing your murderer._

What Rane was saying was very important. He just didn't know the implications; he didn't know that the Terra Nostra was run by the Federation.

She asked, "So the Terra Nostra is on the run?"

"Not on the run. They're still too powerful for that. But they are being pushed and challenged by other criminal organizations. That kind smells weakness. With more people taking Shade, the Terra Nostra's power base is weakening."

This was good news. Blake had wanted to use the Terra Nostra against the Federation until he found out that Federation ran it. If the Terra Nostra were neutralized now, then the Federation's power would lessen in the Outer Colonies. For that to happen, the criminals with Shade would have to continue and gain control.

Jenna felt a glimmer of conscience as she looked into the face of her tired friend. She couldn't afford to feel any more, not if they were to win against the Federation. Rane would never understand if she explained it to him. She hoped that one day, when people were finally freed from the control of the Federation, he would understand that her actions were justified and that she had no choice. The Federation gave them none.

_I'm sorry, old friend but this is about destroying the Federation. For that...I would do anything_. She thought fiercely, _This will make us winners, Blake. That's what you wanted. Your dream will be one step closer_. There was obsession in her eyes.

She had to make sure that the Raven crew was not found out.

**********

Buzz. Sester opened bleary eyes. Who would be calling on him at this hour?

The buzzer sounded again several times. He sighed and sat up, rubbing tired eyes.

The buzzer again. _It has to be him. _Sester had been expecting Argus to talk to him today but there had been no sight of the man. _Did he have to pick now? _he thought irritably as he got up and pulled on a robe. Maybe it had taken Reya this long to persuade him?

He pressed the door control and prepared himself to give the man a hard time. It was only fair for waking him up.

As he had expected, it was Argus. For some reason, the man seemed bigger. He was also only partially dressed in a pair of trousers and nothing else. His muscular frame was very obvious in this lighting. Sester said, "What…"

Argus said in a quick, commanding clip, "Meeting. Tomorrow morning. 0900. Be there." He turned around and walked off without giving Sester a chance to say anything in response.

As the door slid closed, Sester thought with amusement, _The delivery could use improvement but at least you didn't mess it up_. He went back to bed.

**********

Vila looked around nervously. Everything was going well. The largest cargo hold was decorated with festive banners and brightly coloured strips of light. The place was packed with well-wishers for Corinne's birthday party. There was a satisfying murmur of friendly conversation interspersed with lots of laughter. A huge, delicious spread of savouries and desserts were laid out on a long side table.

The soldiers had given their gift of an energetic acrobatics display. The Tellarans had produced a special set of memory crystals containing some of the most beautiful places in the Union. They would work together with the virtual imaging unit that Vila had obtained from the Pleasure City people.

Argus presented Corinne with a thin blade in a slim holster that could easily be concealed. Reya gave her a beautiful drawing of the three women singing together in the harmonics room. Cally had a box of personally handcrafted chocolates as a delectable gift. Everything was going very well. The look on Corinne's delighted face told him that she was having a wonderful time. She was doing lots of hugging and kissing of people so she must have been very happy.

Then why was he so nervous?

Everyone turned to Avon. It was his turn to give his gift.

Vila knew why he was nervous. He should never have allowed Avon near Spot. The man had promised that _Corinne_ would not be harmed in anyway. But it was the way he had stressed, _Corinne_ that made Vila nervous. Of course, he hadn't realized that until now, when then were well into the party and the gift giving. It was too late to stop it.

Avon came forward, his hands clasped behind his back. He brought around a grey box…with a pink ribbon tied around it and on top, a beautiful pink bow.

There were sniggers of laughter, quickly suppressed. Avon glared around him, daring anyone else to say anything. No one did. The grey box was his. The pink bow and ribbon had been Cally's added touch. She said that it would look…pretty. Avon scowled at everyone before he handed the box to Corinne. Almost as an afterthought, he said seriously, "Happy Birthday, Corinne."

"Oh, this is _wonderful_, Avon!" Corinne put her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Avon didn't seem to know how to respond. When Corinne let go of him, Avon said, "You don't know what the gift is."

Corinne said sincerely, "I don't need to know. I just know that you gave it to me. That means a lot. I would be just as happy if you only gave me a piece of blank paper."

Avon stared at her and then with a deadpan face said, "I will remember that next time."

Corinne grinned. She undid the bow and slid the ribbon off the box. Everyone seemed to be holding his or her breaths in anticipation. No one had any idea what Avon would give someone for a birthday present.

Corinne removed the lid and reached in. It was a personal data pad. She looked up and smiled at Avon with pleasure. "_It is_ a blank piece of paper! I can store all kinds of information. Maybe start a journal! Thank you!"

The corner of Avon's lips curled upwards slightly. "You're welcome."

Now was the time that made Vila the most nervous. It was his turn. He was determined to make the best of it. Vila picked up a glass and wet his throat first. "It's my turn."

Everyone turned towards him. There was a smile on Corinne's face and a great deal of affection in her eyes.

Vila said, "Corinne. You're a very special person. You've brightened the lives of everyone here. I know you've brightened mine. I want to wish you the very best of everything…but…I suppose you'll have to settle for me." He gave her a teasing grin. Vila raised his glass and everyone lifted theirs in response. "Happy Birthday, Corinne!

After the toasts had been drunk, Corinne suddenly put her arms around him. "You're the best!" She kissed him soundly. Not the peck on the cheek that she had been giving the others. A real kiss.

Vila was stunned. He was feeling very warm and he was sure that his face was turning red by the time Corinne let him go. "Ahem…you still have one more gift. It was…too big to wrap up. But if you clap twice, it will come to you."

Corinne's eyes were puzzled but she lifted her hands up and clapped. The crowd parted.

She exclaimed with surprise, "Spot!"

Beep. Beep. The little robot cleaner rolled towards her. Someone had put a light blue bow on his head and tied a ribbon around his neck.

It said in a bright, cheery little voice," Happy Birthday!"

Corinne knelt down and patted it on the head. Spot's ears whirled in delight. Corinne said, "This is wonderful! I've always wanted a pet!"

Avon was outraged. It was bad enough that he had been reduced to working on a cleaning appliance. He had mollified himself by making some considerable improvements. It was now a very sophisticated device capable of many more functions than the narrow ones it had before. However, having his work thought of as a _pet_ was too much. He opened his mouth to correct Corinne. Cally nudged him gently in the side.

Avon gave her a light scowl. Cally obviously thought this was not the time to communicate this information.

Corinne stood up and looped her arm around Vila's. "Thank you everyone for the birthday party. And all of the wonderful gifts. This has been the best birthday. Thank you!"

Chapter Eight

Argus asked nervously, "Are you sure you have everything?"

Reya picked up the Tellaran stun pistol from the table, feeling its well-moulded grip and balancing it in her hand. She checked the charge. _Full_. As expected.

She said patiently, "Yes, Argus. I'm sure I have everything."

"If you don't…I could get it for you," he offered eagerly. He eyed the stun gun and wished that she would bring down something more substantial. Reya had insisted that all the ground teams only be armed with non-lethal Tellaran weapons. She had been very insistent about it.

"That's alright. I _do_ _have_ everything." Reya slid the pistol into the holster and buckled it on, out of habit adjusting it for fast drawing.

Argus's face fell. He really was hoping for something to do. This waiting was killing him and Reya hadn't even left yet. "You're sure?"

Reya put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly, feeling his restless tension. She knew that he hated not being part of the action. "I'm very sure."

Argus tried to express as much confidence in her as he could. "It's not that I'm nervous about you going down, I know you're _very_ capable."

"That's good to know."

"It's just that…after what happened the last time…" He still felt the pain of seeing her battered body and the helpless frustration of not being able to get to her in time while the Chandarans had been trying to kill her. How was he going to communicate that he wanted to go down with her, without also giving the impression that he didn't think she could take care of herself? His thoughts were all jumbled up, which made him even more incoherent. "…I thought…I could provide backup _with_ you. Rather than from up here. I could … stand behind you. I wouldn't get in the way. You could give _me_ orders."

Reya sighed, "No, Argus. We agreed that wouldn't work as well. We are trying to show the Chandarans that women can capably and naturally lead. You're too much of a Terran Alpha. You have a dominating personality, that's why Avon and Sester aren't going down either."

Argus pointed out, "Vila's going down."

"That's because he's not like the three of you. He can behave himself. Well…" Reya grinned. "In some things." Reya brushed her fingers lightly along his cheek. "You know it's better this way."

Argus said reluctantly, "I know. It's just that…I want to…" He decided that saying anything further might not be a good idea.

Reya said with affectionate understanding, "You want to be with me and you want to protect me."

"Yes…I mean, no. I mean, I _know_ you don't _need_ me to protect you. I just…"

Reya brushed her fingers through his hair. "You love me, that's why you want to protect me. I know that it has nothing to do with you thinking that I'm not capable."

Argus breathed a sigh of relief, "Why is it that you always find the right words to say?"

"I wish that were true."

Argus took her hand and kissed her palm gently, sending a shiver that seemed to radiate through Reya's body.

Reluctantly, Reya pulled her hand from his. "I'd better go."

Argus sighed. "Be careful and…go and give them some."

"That's not the idea."

Argus grinned. "I know. I'd like to see it though."

"You mean, again?" she asked teasingly.

They both smiled.

**********

The teleport room was filling with people. If Argus hadn't put his foot down, it would have been standing room only.

Everyone wanted to be here at this moment. It wasn't that they all had to be there, the rest would not be required until later, but this was the start of a mission that would decide the fate of an entire planet. Reya, Cally, Corinne and Marlena were going to meet with the new President of Chandar and to coordinate with Marlena's bond-mate, former President Brent.

Vila found it funny that Argus was hanging around Reya but trying to sound very professional about it. And Avon was sitting at the teleport console, but his eyes kept sliding across to rest on Cally every so often, for no reason at all, as if he needed visual proof that she hadn't gone anywhere yet.

Sester always seemed to like hanging around near doorways, leaning against the wall and with a perpetually bemused look on his face. Vila could tell that he was watching everything, taking in the atmosphere of the room and had probably noticed the same things long before he had.

The three Alphas were supposed to watch things up here and provide backup. Vila had smirked when he first heard and wondered if they should leave someone to watch them.

Alphas…put more than one in the same room and you had an instant war. He'd seen it often enough before, hadn't he? Front row seats most times. It was entertaining unless you were stupid enough to get in the middle. Vila found it was much more enjoyable when the blood being spilt wasn't his own. He preferred heckling from the sidelines.

Alphas dominated everything in sight. That was just the way they were. Vila liked to think of it as a character flaw. Going around lording it over all the lower grades was one thing. No one seemed to have put much thought into how that would work out when you had more than one of them in the same place. Or three? Saying sparks would fly would be the understatement to end all understatements.

Vila hoped that the uneasy truce over breakfast would be enough to keep the three Alphas from doing any permanent damage to each other. He wondered if his part of the land mission could be finished more quickly. Vila was looking forward to working with Corinne and and Cally but he might be more useful watching things up here.

All chattering ceased and everyone seemed to stand to attention as the four women stepped onto the teleport platform.

Vila caught Corinne's eyes. They had said their good wishes back in their cabin but Vila wanted to add another one. He gave her an encouraging smile, one that said that he wished he was going with her. Corinne grinned and nodded.

Cally and Avon also caught each other's eyes briefly. What they needed to say, had already been said between them. Cally knew that Avon didn't feel any further words were needed.

Argus was now standing by the teleport console. "Good luck." He said to Avon, "Send them down." Within seconds, the familiar teleport energies surrounded the group and then they were gone.

**********

While everyone else went off to prepare and wait for Reya's instructions, Argus, Avon and Sester convened on the flight deck. The two military engineers had set up other monitoring equipment and screens and were busy under Avon's direction. Vila had tagged along since his team wasn't needed yet. Besides, he wanted to see how the three men were going to handle being support.

Argus uselessly checked over his flight panel readings even though they weren't going anywhere. He asked impatiently, "Avon, is it ready?"

Avon was busy at Cally's communications station. "Two minutes."

"They're already down there."

Avon looked up briefly and favoured him with a sarcastic look. "I was there when you sent them down unless you've forgotten."

"I know. I'll…stop bothering you."

Sester was sitting on one of the couches observing them both. "He's nervous."

Argus glared at him. "I am not."

Sester had a playful glint in his eyes. "Why do you assume I'm talking about you?"

Avon looked up again and this time gave Sester a humourless look. "He knows you're not foolish enough to make that kind of remark to me."

Argus frowned. "Wait just a minute you two."

Avon turned the same humourless look in his direction. "Do you want me to complete the connections or would you prefer continuing this pointless conversation?"

Sester said in jest, "Well, if you could manage both…"

Avon cut him off, "I wasn't speaking to you."

Argus added, "Yes, no one was speaking…" As he looked at Sester, Argus's lips curled in a snarl of frustration. "Never mind." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Alright, let's get on with it."

Another thing that Argus found extremely irritating was that Sester's role would be important in this endeavour. But Argus was a professional, his responsibilities always came first.

Vila, who was at his old neutron blaster control muttered, "That's amazing."

Avon glared at him, "What are you doing here?"

Vila was flustered. He didn't have a good reason to be here. "I was…"

Sester said with amusement, "He's being nosy. About us."

"I was not! I was…" Vila suddenly felt vastly outnumbered.

Argus asked with steely eyes. "Yes? I would like to know what you're doing at the neutron blaster controls when we don't plan to blast anyone."

Vila tried to sound as innocent and industrious as he knew how."Uh…running diagnostics?"

Avon's eyes narrowed at this implausible explanation. He said to Sester. "You're right. He is being nosy."

Vila protested, "I can run diagnostics."

Avon remarked without a trace of humour, "Willingly?"

"Hey, I resent that!"

"They're just jealous, Vila," said Sester as he stood up and got himself a glass of water from a tray on a nearby table.

Avon remarked, "Hardly."

Sester explained, "They're jealous that you're going to be part of the action while they're stuck up here being _support_." He sat back down again.

Vila pointed out, "You're stuck up here too."

"Psychostrategists are used to having _other_ people do the dirty work."

Avon said dryly, "What a fascinating statement." He turned to Argus, "Perhaps other people would find it even more fascinating?"

Argus smiled. "Yes…such as the four women currently down on the planet?"

"At the very least."

Sester grinned as if he was enjoying himself immensely. "Vila, are you sufficiently amused?"

Avon and Argus turned their attentions to Vila again.

Argus asked, "Why does he get to go down?"

Cally had tried to explain it to Avon but he had not been entirely convinced. He had only agreed because he had trusted her judgement and because his role with the computers was crucial during this mission. "He's not an Alpha."

Argus remembered Reya's words. "Reya said that he can behave himself."

Avon said sardonically, "Obviously, she doesn't know him well enough."

Vila said, "Or…she definitely knows the three of you."

Avon, Argus and Sester stared at him.

Several readings changed on Avon's monitor screens. He looked down at them. "The connections have been made. Zen, put them onscreen."

**********

Reya and her team teleported down to the Chandaran President's meeting chamber. There was immediate reaction at the composition of her group, whispered voices of surprise and uncertainty amongst the gathered reception committee of Champions and government officials.

The Elder Champion Trist, inclined his head formally and said, "Champion Reya. It is good to see you again." Next to him were the former President, Brent and the man who had been part of Reya's first challenge, Champion Dannon.

Reya followed his custom. "President Trist."

Trist had always been a man who seemed burdened by responsibilities, he seemed even more so now. "I am only the interim leader until the situation has stabilized."

Brent stepped forward. "We still haven't been able to convince him that he _is_ the President until then."

Trist corrected, "A temporary one."

Brent grinned, "You see?" His eyes opened wider when he saw his bond-mate and his daughter behind Reya. His face held soft joy as he said, "Marlena. Corinne."

Marlena's eyes connected with his as both women stepped forward to either side of Reya. The two bond-mates were well aware that any other display might shock the already astonished Chandarans.

Marlena said warmly, "It is good to see you again."

Corinne had a big smile on her face but she knew that now was not the time. "I'm glad to see you too, father."

Reya said, "We all have much to discuss but you should have time to speak to your family first."

**********

On the ship, the four men were watching the pirated security video feed of the meeting chamber that Avon had obtained access to.

Avon asked incredulously, "They're going to discuss family matters?"

Argus was assessing what he was observing. "Reya must feel it's important."

Avon said, "I don't see the relevance."

Argus tried to understand what Reya was doing. "Maybe she wants to talk to Trist first. He is President now."

Vila said, "Maybe she's just trying to be nice? She knows how important they are to each other."

Sester said from his comfortable seat by the couches, "What Vila is trying to say is that Reya is taking this opportunity to show the Chandarans how an equal and loving dynamic works between a man and a woman."

Avon said, "That wasn't in the plan."

Argus said wryly, "It appears that the plan has changed somewhat."

**********

Brent, Marlena and Corinne were speaking softly in a quiet corner. Though no one could hear what they were saying, it was clear how they felt about each other and there was no hiding that there was no subservience in their relationship.

The Chandaran Champions and government officials were talking to Reya but there was no mistaking their inordinate attention in the three in the corner. Reya was very aware of their interest. As she continued asking Trist about the situation on the planet, she turned her head slightly in Cally's direction, caught her eyes briefly and looked quickly in Marlena's direction.

Cally projected into her mind, * _You want to know how the Chandarans are reacting to Marlena and Brent? _*

Reya nodded her head slightly.

Cally's role was to keep an eye on the mental and emotional atmosphere of the room. There were many strong emotions at work in the meeting chamber. * _There is a mixture. Some positive. Most unsure. Curiosity. _*

Reya discreetly put one hand behind her and tightened her fist.

*_ There are one or two negative reactions but nothing extreme. They all feel uncomfortable, but that is mainly because this is something alien to them. The group gathered here appears to be open. _*

Reya nodded her head imperceptibly again as Trist continued talking and Marlena and her family became the unconscious focus for the people in the room. After Trist finished telling her of the current political situation, Reya said, "That's a good start."

Interim-President Trist said, "We are hoping for much more, Champion Reya."

Reya asked with light resignation, "You're going to continue calling me that while I'm here, aren't you?"

Trist, ever the stickler for following custom said, "You _are_ a Champion of Chandar. It is only your due. We've tended to be lax on Champion titles but I think in your case, we must insist. We must remind people who you are."

Reya didn't like it but she knew that if they were to do what they were here to do, this was one of the annoyances she would have to bear. "If you feel it's necessary."

Trist said, "It is. I was surprised that Argus didn't come down with you."

"It was felt that I was the best person to deal with the situation on Chandar."

Trist paused to take this information in. "I don't know if I can ever feel entirely comfortable with the idea of a woman being in charge."

Reya nodded her understanding. " It's against everything you've ever known."

"It's against everything I've ever felt. It…will be hard to change."

Reya said encouragingly, "But you have already. You took a great step in accepting me as Champion."

"That was different. You earned the title."

Reya seized on this. "That is what we would like to discuss once Brent and Marlena join us."

Cally projected to Reya, * _Trist is very interested in what you said. _*

Reya nodded imperceptibly again.

**********

The four men were observing the viewscreen intently on the _Justice_.

Argus said, "Reya has Trist's attention already."

Avon agreed, "It appears so."

Argus turned to Sester and asked, "What is your assessment so far?"

"The conditions are optimal. It appears Brent and Trist have gathered a good group to work with. Reya's idea was a good one. She is making them think."

Avon asked, "You are saying that the move to have Brent and Marlena deal with personal matters was not an attempt to be 'nice' but was meant to help facilitate our plans?"

Sester turned to him with amusement, "Yes and no."

Before Avon could say anything scathing about evasive answers, Sester said, "Reya was trying to accomplish two things. One you would recognize and appreciate. The other…you would only appreciate if Cally was involved."

Avon scowled at him.

Argus had kept his attentions on the screen. "Brent and Marlena are coming back."

They all turned to watch the unfolding events in the meeting chamber.

Chapter Nine

As Marlena, Brent and Corinne came back to the meeting, all conversation stopped. There were friendly faces from those who had been part of Brent's former Presidential staff. They were all aware of Brent's unusual relationships with his bond-mate and his daughter.

The Champions and other government officials were, not exactly unfriendly, but more ill at ease. None of them had seen this kind of relationship before. Despite their desire to change their society and the conditions for women, all of their instincts and feelings told them that this kind of interaction was unnatural.

This was something Reya and her team were well aware of. They had been well briefed by Marlena and the Tellaran psychostrategists. Everyone knew the daunting task that lay before them. To truly change this society, it had to be done from the inside out.

The Tellarans were not interested in change that was obtained by force. That would inevitably result in much suffering, if not death, for people on both sides of the conflict. Their goal was to avoid as much violence as possible and to find a more permanent solution. Compliance obtained by force, had to be maintained by force, unless you got rid of everyone who opposed you, one way or another or disabled them somehow and removed their ability to provide opposition. But then, it would become oppression of a different sort. The Tellarans were not interested in removing one form of oppression by replacing it with another.

The Tellaran teams had come to Chandar preparing to stay for the long-term. None of them expected quick results. The members had all committed their lives to helping the Chandarans.

As Brent, Marlena and Corinne rejoined the meeting, Brent asked, "Did we miss anything?"

Reya responded, "President Trist has been informing me of the political situation here on Chandar."

Brent said in jest, "Always a fascinating topic on Chandar; battles, challenges, all manner of death and mayhem. And those are just the council meetings."

Reya said, "You must have been very busy."

Brent grinned, "You have no idea."

Trist wanted to return to more serious matters. "Champion Reya, you were mentioning something earlier? About your earning of the Champion title?"

"In a way." Reya turned her head slightly in Cally's direction, indicating that she wanted the Auronar woman to pay particular attention to the atmosphere in the room for the next part.

*_ I'm watching, _* Cally reassured her.

Reya continued, "It's not _my_ earning of the title that I'm interested in but the concept in your society of the earning of privilege."

There were stirrings of curiosity among the Chandarans.

A guard rushed into the room and whispered something in Trist's ears. The interim President said, "If you'll excuse me. Just a minor issue but an urgent one. I will be back in half an hour. Please make yourselves comfortable. I will instruct that refreshments be brought in."

**********

As they waited for Trist to return, the others talked quietly amongst themselves. Marlena and Corinne reacquainted themselves with Brent's people.

Reya took Cally aside and said, "Sorry there wasn't time to tell you about the change in plans. I realized something when I was talking to President Trist."

A uniformed attendant came by with a tray of beverages. Reya asked, "Do you have water?" The man indicated a clear blue glass. Reya picked it up and nodded her thanks. Cally also took a cup of water.

Cally asked, "What did you realize?"

"Do you remember the idea that Sester had originally?"

Cally was peering into her coloured glass. It was hard to tell if it was water or not. "You mean when we were here the last time and you were involved in the challenges?"

Reya said, "Yes. Sester said something in one of the briefings. He said to remember that respect is earned through challenge on Chandar. It's a key concept in this society."

Cally frowned and took a small testing taste of the liquid, "A very masculine concept. The idea of valuing someone according their ability to dominate or beat an opponent."

Reya took a drink from her own cup. "Yes. But I was thinking, we've proven that the concept itself is beyond gender."

Cally said, "That was a very special case and only involved you. You made an indelible impression on them. And unless you plan to find a few more women who can do the same thing…"

Reya gave her a slight conspiratorially smile, "Would you like to volunteer?"

"Tell me you're joking."

"Don't worry, I am. But…I know you could do it. You're a tough woman, Cally."

"I feel more like a nurse these days. Not very tough."

Reya hadn't realized that Cally felt this way. It was hard to tell from her voice if she was feeling frustrated. "Does it…bother you to have to take care of Avon all the time?"

Cally didn't know where these feelings were coming from. "It's not that. I would spend the rest of my days taking care of Avon, if he needed me to. Gladly. But…I started out as a rebel. I wanted to right wrongs. To make the galaxy a better place. I was frustrated with the pacifism of my own people. I had to fight for what I thought was right. But then Star One happened…and the thought of killing all those innocent people…just because we thought it was better for them…it finally opened my eyes to what a horrible thing I was contemplating and how compromised my ideals had become. Until then I had never questioned if what we had been doing was right. It made me ill to think of the ramifications. Later when Avon decided to get away from it all, to stay out of everyone's way and live peacefully, I was glad. For a while. But then I became restless again. I had spent many years pursuing a single goal, fighting the Federation. I wasn't used to the life Avon had chosen. To me it seemed aimless. I did not give him an easy time about it but…now I realize he was just trying to live in peace."

Reya said, "And now you're restless again?"

Cally was trying to sort out the different emotions that were vying for her attention. "I…don't know. Maybe part of me will always be a warrior, wanting to fight. But…another part of me doesn't. I never meant to be a fanatic. I'm afraid…"

"You're afraid that you might become one again?" Reya touched her arm in empathy. "You and Avon are well matched."

"Yes. We've always been that."

"No. I don't mean it like that." Reya's brows knitted as she tried to explain what she was thinking. "You said that Avon wanted to live a life of peace when he was given a choice."

"Yes. I think that was all Avon ever wanted."

Reya had never tried to understand the complexities that made up Avon before. "Avon prefers a life of peace for himself. He will not go out of his way to look for people to help but…he will fight when he can be convinced there is a need, or if other people believe there is a need. You're the opposite. You're a warrior at heart. You have a need to act when you know that wrongs are being done. You will seek out people to help but now you're bothered by the violence."

When an Auronar is surrounded by the mental cries and agonies of the dying, even if they are only vague impressions of alien species or humans, it is a disturbing experience. Normally she didn't feel it but when it was on such a scale, it was like the dying of her own people. It wasn't until then that the mental realization she had on the Liberator became real to her on a level that was horrifying. It had made her question herself, Blake, everything. And the answers she had come up with had made her very uncomfortable.

It had made her want to go home and see her people again. To seek reconciliation from those who had banished her, because life had proven too short for too many people, and she had nearly been one of them. Cally shivered inside at the thought of almost becoming nothing more than spare body parts. She wondered how many people had suffered the same fate but hadn't been as lucky to have an Avon to save her. "I suppose that's true."

"And for a time after Star One, you sought respite in the peace that Avon provided."

"I didn't realize it at the time. But I needed it. We all did. There was too much death and the thought that we were nearly responsible for a lot of it...it was too much to face."

Reya wondered at that statement. Why did Cally feel this way? Why did she think that they were nearly responsible? Responsible for what? Didn't the _Liberator_ crew help save the galaxy from the alien invasion?

"That is why I said that you are well matched. You complement each other, you challenge each other and you give each other rest. That is what you've been doing for Avon, in the same way he did for you after Star One. He gives you his desire for peace and you give him your desire to help others. He is coldly rational and denies his emotions. You once allowed yourself to be ruled by your emotions and instincts, enough to blind you into becoming a fanatic. In themselves, neither are healthy ways to live but you influence each other. You are good for one another."

What Reya was saying sounded oddly familiar but Cally's mind was too preoccupied to think on it. Her head was filled with the memories of her relationship with Avon, and the motivations of her own heart. "You've given me much to think on. I'm not sure what I want to be now. I want to be more active again but I'm not certain to what degree." She smiled wryly, "I'm not sure I want the kind of tough reputation you have."

Reya nearly chuckled. "Do you think I do? I have enough problems with the men on the ship. Now I have the potential of having a whole planet full of problems."

Cally tried to suppress a smile of amusement. "We'll have to give you a team of soldiers to fend them off. I understand that Vila was suggesting the idea of action figures."

Reya shuddered in mock-horror. "Don't remind me. Vila had better be joking. If I see a hint of one…I'll know where to look."

Cally's eyes carried light humour. "You do perpetuate the image, even if you don't mean to."

Reya sighed. "Well, at least it is going to prove useful with the Chandarans. It seems to be the only thing they recognize. Which brings us back to my idea."

Cally looked apologetic, "We got sidetracked."

"We both did."

Cally had been bothered by something. It finally hit her what it was. "You sound like Sester. When I was on the prison planet, he pretended to help me. I was depressed. I missed Avon. I was confused about how I felt. He tried to help me understand. Some of the things you said…sound like what he would say."

Reya cleared her throat with awkwardness. "It's because I've been talking to him. Just a bit. I was consulting him about the various scenarios possible on Chandar and what to look for. He's very talkative and he analyzes everything…including relationships. I suppose I've picked up some of it from him."

Cally's eyes narrowed, "You mean he talks about my relationship with Avon?"

Reya was looking very uncomfortable. "Just in passing sometimes. I don't ask him to."

"He analyzes you and Argus too, doesn't he?"

Reya's eyes looked down at the ground. "I've told him to stop it."

"You have to be careful of him, Reya. You know how easily he can get you into trouble."

"I know. Don't worry. I would never let him do anything that would hurt Argus."

Cally thought, _It's never knowingly with Sester. That's why he's so dangerous._ She would have to keep an eye on Reya.

Reya said, "We should discuss the change in plan before the President returns. We need to coordinate our communication."

Cally nodded. In a low voice, Reya quickly sketched out what her idea was and they discussed how to proceed.

**********

Back on the flight deck, the four men were puzzled.

Avon remarked, "This is another deviation from the plan."

Argus had a thoughtful look on his face. He mused, "Yes…"

What was Reya trying to do? Originally, their plan had been to help the Tellarans set up on Chandar so that they could begin their long-term mission. Reya was to do some visible public relations work. She had been prepared to meet with some of the more serious opposition and perhaps face down a few more challenges. That way the Chandarans would have more of an opportunity to test how real her original tests had been and there would be no question that a woman was more than capable of beating any number of them.

Reya's face was to become the new image of women on Chandar. She had not liked that part of the plan one bit. Reya had no desire to be immortalized in song, posters, plays or action figures, despite how hero-worship worked on Chandar.

Avon found her attitude a reasonable one. He still couldn't stand heroes.

Sester said jokingly from where he was sitting, "She really hated the idea of becoming an action figure. Unfortunately, she won't be able to avoid it, even if she does it this way."

Vila asked him, "Do you know what she's doing?"

Avon said dryly, "Can't you tell from the smug look on his face?"

Sester grinned. "She's following one of my suggestions."

Argus tried not to growl at the idea that Reya would be following anything that Sester said. Through gritted teeth, he tried to ask in a professional manner, "Which suggestion?"

"Reya recognizes what I realized at the beginning when I first analyzed this society. The concepts of challenge and respect are deeply ingrained on Chandar."

Avon's head cocked in interest. "As deeply ingrained as their views of women?"

Sester said, "That is what informed my original strategy. In order to overcome a deep-seated prejudice, you need something just as strong and even more important to overcome it. It had to be done very carefully or it would have seemed to be an attack. That was why Reya had to return and show that she was there to save them and to submit herself to their will."

Avon was a man who had choices taken away from him most of his life. He understood the significance of Reya's actions, even if he wouldn't have chosen to do it himself. "She risked her life in order to give them the power to decide?"

"That's right." Sester was reminded why he was fascinated by Reya and why he was drawn to her. "She risked her life in order to show them that she was there to serve their interests. She wanted them to know a woman like her was not a threat to their society."

Argus had to concede that Sester did seem to know what he was doing. "What is she doing now?"

They could all see Cally and Reya talking together. They couldn't hear their lowered voices but the two women seemed to be working well and were having a serious discussion.

Sester turned his head to look at Argus speculatively. "You don't object?"

Argus had no doubts about Reya, only Sester. "If Reya's thinks this is the best course of action, then it is."

"Regardless of whom the idea comes from?"

Argus could feel a growl coming on. Sester was really asking to be trounced but Argus exercised a great deal of discipline and controlled himself. "Yes."

Sester smiled pleasantly.

That made Argus growl, but a sound that rumbled low in his throat and only he could hear. He was sure that Sester did it because he knew it would annoy him.

Sester said, "Well, we'll find out if my speculations are right about Reya's intentions. She's about to tell them."

They all turned to the screen again.

**********

President Trist returned and the meeting resumed. "Champion Reya, please continue."

Reya's eyes swept the room slowly as she spoke. Her voice was one of reason. "I know that all of you in this room are open to listening, otherwise, you wouldn't be here. For that, we are all grateful. You must know where I stand with the regards to the status of women in your society, but I am not here to judge."

As she began to share about herself and why she was there, her voice became tinged with passion. "It may shock you to know that I'm a soldier, as many of you are or were. My job is not to tell people what to believe, my role is to fight and to defend. And to lead others into battle, usually at another's orders. But I am under no one's orders today, other than that of my own conscience. I am here because I believe in something. I believe in the people of Chandar, both men _and_ women."

Trist said, "Those are powerful words, Champion Reya. You said that you are not here to judge and that you believe in us. But what do these words mean? What do you want to do?"

Reya turned slightly to her Auron partner.

Cally nodded imperceptibly, *_ They're ready. _*

As Argus was in a habit of doing, Reya took in a deep breath first and let it out. "I would like to issue a challenge."

There were stirrings amongst the Chandarans. They had all witnessed Reya in action. Some wanted to test her for themselves while others seemed nervous.

Trist asked with sharp attention, "What kind of challenge?"

Cally continued feeding Reya her impressions. * _That got their attention. _*

"I want to show that your own women, if given a chance, can surprise you. My request is for you to volunteer one hundred of your women. We will take them in hand and train them for one month. We will teach them the skills that you recognize for a challenge. At the end of the month, you can test them. Of course, in all fairness, they cannot be pitted against your most able fighters. One month is a limited time frame and your women have not had much in the way of education."

Former President Brent said, "This is an interesting idea."

Dannon said, "Yes, but who can we test them against that would be fair but meaningful?"

Cally said, "I would suggest your first year military recruits."

This was something that Cally and Reya had discussed.

Trist said, "That's impossible. Even against first year recruits, the women would never stand a chance. The recruits are young and strong men. Even after only a year of training, they're good fighters. How could any woman beat them after only one month of training?"

Reya said, "Then it would only be more convincing when the women win."

Trist said in warning, "And what happens if they lose?" The look on his face spoke volumes. He was very certain that this was a bad idea.

Reya said with assurance, "They won't."

Cally projected to her, *_ They're not sure about this. They have severe doubts this will work. _*

Trist asked, "You have that much faith in people you've never seen before? Knowing full well what you have to work with?"

There were no doubts in Reya's eyes. She exuded confidence. "Yes. Is this an acceptable challenge?"

Trist's burdened eyes were heavy with thought. He asked, "What do you think, Pre…I mean, Brent?"

Brent nodded slowly as he considered it, "It's a risk. If they lose…"

Reya again repeated firmly, "They won't."

Brent asked his bond-mate, "Marlena?"

Marlena had been thinking as well. "Will we be able to choose which women?"

Trist said, "Of course. You would want young, able-bodied women. You can choose which ones."

Marlena said, "Then this is a chance we cannot pass up."

*_ That was a good suggestion. It will make things easier. Marlena has convinced Brent. He trusts her and she trusts you. _*

Reya nodded imperceptibly in acknowledgement.

Brent said, "Very well. We should start broadcasting this over all the vid-networks and give it a proper build-up."

Reya said, "One of the Tellaran teams can help you with that." This was one of the psychostrategist teams. "In the mean time, I will make myself available for questions, appearances, or challenges from your people."

Cally said, "We wish to build an image of women that is both capable and beneficial to Chandar society. People who are non-threatening but at the same time, should not be taken lightly."

**********

After Reya had finished explaining what she wanted to do, Avon asked with cool scepticism, "She can't seriously believe that will work?"

Argus was already thinking about what was needed to put the plan into place and what he and the others needed to do to help. He said absently, "Reya believes it will work and we're going to help her."

Sester said, "Given the nature of the Chandarans, and as long as it is done properly, I believe it has a chance of giving a greater percentage of success."

Avon asked, "How much greater?"

Sester pulled out a personal data pad from his pocket and retrieved his own projection analysis. "On estimate, forty to eighty-five percent of our original goals at fifty percent chance of success."

"As opposed to?"

"Our original plan would give fifty to sixty percent of our goals but over a much longer period of time and seventy percent of success."

Argus was conversant with this kind of strategic analysis. Military commanders played with percentages of success, usually along with acceptable losses. "So we're trading a greater chance of success with achieving a more optimal result?"

Sester said, "We're not trading. Since this is a non-lethal strategy, there is a fallback position. If Reya's plan fails, we can still go back to the original plan."

Though Avon was not familiar with what Sester was doing, he was acquainted with the implications of these kinds of analysis. "What is the negative impact on the original plan if hers fails?"

A brief smile flickered across Sester's face. Avon had an amazing ability to apply his mental prowess to fields he was unfamiliar with and to make sense of them. This was the Avon that had first made him take notice at the Detention Centre.

Sester replied, "Five percent of variance in original goals and success probability but the time required would almost double."

Vila didn't know what the three men were talking about with their numbers and statistics. He was no mathematician or a strategist but there were some things he did understand. "You mean what we want will never be a hundred percent possible?"

Sester turned to him. "Nothing is completely reproducible under different conditions."

Vila asked, "You mean because they both have different histories and cultures?"

"That's a reasonable supposition. But in this case, I am talking about the lack of a catastrophic catalyst."

Avon had conducted some extensive reading about Tellaran science and technology, and also surprisingly enough, about Tellaran society. A culture based on the rational application of sentiment had seemed to be an oxymoron he was determined to uncover. "You are referring to the war that nearly resulted in the extinction of the Tellaran people?"

"Yes. That was the catalyst that forced them to make a decision."

Avon asked, "Live or die?"

Sester was aware of fragmentary emotions surfacing from his past. This discussion and the interaction with these three men reminded him of something.

"Yes. Disasters tend to distil life down to its basic foundations. There is nothing more fundamental than the choice between life and death."

Avon's voice tightened and was touched with bitter cynicism, he almost sounded angry. "Then it should have become what it has always been for humanity. A society like Tellar should not exist. It's not possible."

Sester regarded him curiously. "And yet it does exist."

Argus was looking down at his flight panel but his eyes were not focused on it. In many ways, he believed the same as Avon did. He had seen too much of human corruption and cruelty to be naïve to the base nature of human beings. But in his heart, he had been fighting for the hope that something different could be possible. He looked up and asked, "Why are they possible?"

Sester looked at him curiously. There was none of Argus's normal antagonism. It was as if…

Sester recognized the emotions that were surfacing from the past. These were his friends, the best and the brightest in their own ways. It was one of the factors that had first drawn them to each other, the recognition of excellence and intelligence.

Sester said, "The disaster was the catalyst that made them take a hard, objective look at their society. But it was not enough. Like the Chandarans, they had a strong history of violence and war. But the reason why they attract you, Avon is because they also had another side, they had a strong culture of science and rational thought. There was also a third factor. Because of their destructive wars, many of the Tellaran men were killed. There was an abnormally large percentage of women. And unlike the Chandarans, their women were not slaves."

Avon's mind was busy processing this information. He had read something of this on Tellar but he hadn't finished his research. "You are saying that the women changed their society?"

"Yes and no."

Avon scowled at him.

Sester grinned and said in apology. "Honesty, Avon. I don't mean to do it. But it is an accurate description."

Avon said, "Find another way of saying it."

"When the Tellarans realized that they were facing extinction, they gathered together to find a rational solution. The women and the remaining men. Women tend to have a different perspective than men. They are more naturally cooperative and less violent. That is not to say that all women are or that men are not, but that is the tendency. Unfortunately, in many societies, it is the masculine traits of dominance, violence and competition, which rules. And these are the ones which expand and conquer and become very successful, in the way that success is measured in our era."

Argus asked, "You mean that the Tellarans decided that it was these traits that were destroying their society?"

Sester started. He had not expected Argus to make that leap of understanding, especially not a man who was very much an Alpha male to whom dominance and competition were second nature. Not to mention Argus was a lifetime soldier. "Not entirely." Before anyone could make a comment he said, "It was the application of these traits without the balancing ones of peace, cooperation, and mutual respect that they determined to be the greatest problems."

Avon said, "They decided to change their society along these lines? Using the psychostrategists to re-engineer their culture and civilization?"

"Yes and they did it on a fundamental level. They re-educated themselves and deliberately placed peace, cooperation and mutual respect higher in priority than the others. They had determined that without this, their world would destroy itself within two generations."

Vila said, "It must have helped that there were way more women than men."

"Yes, it was a unique situation."

Argus said, "So…the Tellarans are trying to make that possible here? Without a catastrophic event? And with the women being in a lesser position?"

Vila's mind was picking things up quickly. "But they had their disaster already, didn't they? When the Commander showed them the aliens? It must have been a big shock. I mean, they were nearly able to take over here. And they used their prejudices to do it. That would've been a big kick in their pride."

Sester said, "That is part of our strategy. To show that the Chandaran policy towards their women has become a weakness that can be exploited by others and that enhancing the conditions of their women will be beneficial to their society."

Argus said, "Then our plans need to be expanded to include Reya's ideas. Avon, what do you think?"

Avon was running through all the new information in his mind, "If Sester is right about the percentages and the Commander has determined that the situation on the planet is favourable, then we should do it."

Argus was already making plans. "Alright, Reya will probably ask to divert several of the teams for training. She sounded as if she already knows the type of training she wants for the women. Sester, will the women respond well to being trained by the soldiers? Or…" He stopped and stared at Sester.

Vila said suddenly and with exaggerated effect, "I don't believe it. Are the three of you agreeing?"

There was an instant denial from the others.

"No!"

"Of course not."

"Don't be ridiculous."

Vila had a grin on his face, "Just wanted to make sure. Wouldn't want to give anyone the _wrong impression_, would we?"

Argus abruptly turned towards Sester and stared intently at him. He asked suddenly, "What do you believe?"

For a moment, Sester was taken aback by the force in Argus's voice and then a smile curled his lips. He could guess what Argus was referring to. It amused and delighted him that Argus was thinking on this level, in an area that was not within his normal expertise. Sester was reminded of the intelligence that had made Jack one of them. He decided that it wasn't time to make it easy for him. "I believe in a great many things. Which one are you referring to in particular?"

Argus's sudden interjection had caused Avon to look at him. Then he said to Sester, "You've made a detailed analysis of Tellaran society and you understand it."

Sester said, "Ah. You want to know if I believe in what you're doing?"

Argus said, "You don't believe."

Sester eyed him with interest. "You're right, I don't. But I believe in the three of you. I believe in Reya and Cally. I don't have enough information on Corinne to decide if I believe in her yet. Isn't that enough?"

Argus challenged him, "Is it?"

"Are you going to require that I do?"

Argus stared at him as he tried to understand more about this slippery man. "No."

Vila added, "But it would be nice."

Sester gave him a friendly smile. "It would also be far less interesting." While Sester believed in the concept of what the Tellarans had achieved, he didn't believe in it in general. He had his own reasons for this, but he doubted if the others would understand or agree with them.

Argus had a near-snarl on his face. "Is that all that's important to you? Playing games?"

"That's what I do. You should know that by now." He leaned forward. "But I believe in you, Argus. Doesn't that mean something?"

Avon felt a chord of familiarity. He asked, "You've made a personal commitment to us? Just as we did when we were children?"

Sester suddenly felt embarrassed. "Something like that."

Avon said, "Then it's enough for me. Assuming that this is what it is and barring other factors." His eyes queried Vila's response.

Vila said, "Well, you know me."

Avon said dryly, "Unfortunately, we do." There was just a sliver of a smile, quickly hidden, as he turned to ask, "Argus?"

Argus was staring at Sester intently.

Avon asked, "Is it enough for you?"

Argus said to Sester, "I never liked you much even back then, did I?"

Sester grinned impishly, a flash of the boy he had once been. "You've always been a lot of fun, J…"

"Don't you dare." There was a low growl in Argus's throat.

Sester chuckled. "Alright," he said amiably.

Argus took a quick breath and exhaled it forcefully. "It's enough for me. Now can we get back to the mission before I change what's left of my mind?"

Chapter Ten

Jenna and Atton had just finished a gourmet dinner in the Captain's cabin. She had repeatedly rebuffed his attempts at more social interactions, until now.

Captain Atton studied Jenna over the top of his wine glass before finishing it off. He picked up the wine bottle and asked casually, "Why did you really accept my invitation to dinner, Jenna? I was beginning to think that I wasn't your type."

Jenna placed her hand over her glass when he offered to top it up. "You're not."

Atton started slightly and then he laughed. "I like a direct woman. Alright, what do you want?"

She asked carefully, "Have you considered branching out?"

Jenna was no longer interested in just smuggling. She had a much larger goal in mind. The discovery of the significance of their cargo had given her another purpose.

Planning Avon's demise, while extremely rewarding, was nothing compared to advancing Blake's dream. His plans hadn't worked because the Federation was behind the Terra Nostra. This new criminal group was trying to overthrow the Terra Nostra.

Jenna doubted if they knew that they were really coming up against the Federation and she wasn't about to tell them. This new group was going to be very useful and Atton's foray into the drug trade could be the opportunity she needed to get into contact with them.

Atton filled up his own glass. "You mean carrying different cargo?"

"No. Something very different."

"I've never been good at playing twenty questions, Jenna. Why don't you tell me what you have in mind?"

Jenna leaned forward and asked, "Do you know what you're carrying?"

Atton eyed her with interest, "I'm assuming that you're not referring to this?" He lifted the bottle.

Jenna reached into her pocket and drew out the piece of paper that contained the chemical name of Shade. She handed it to him.

Atton's eyes narrowed as he read it. "You've been busy."

Jenna's senses were sharp. Atton was a cautious man who knew how to gain any advantage that he could get. She told him, "I don't like secrets."

The Captain asked slyly, "Unless they're your own?" Atton was no fool.

"You should appreciate that."

Atton's eyes had an evaluating look. "Just remember that you're on _my_ ship."

Jenna knew she had to tread carefully. "Of course, Captain. But I thought you might welcome a suggestion that could make you more money. Much more money."

That definitely piqued Atton's interest. Greed was one of his greatest strengths and weaknesses. "I'm listening."

**********

Reya and Cally had returned to the ship to work out the details of the new plan with Argus, Avon, Vila and Sester. Marlena, Corinne, and the other teams were coordinating efforts down on the planet.

Reya had a disgruntled look on her face. "I'm not doing it."

At this unexpected declaration, they all stared at her.

Argus asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen these?" From behind her back, she brought around a skimpily dressed figurine and waved it in front of her in disgust. Its flowing red cape flapped around her wrist.

Argus came over and took the offensive object. He looked at the doll carefully. A smile spread across his face. "It's you!"

"No, it's not! It's not even human!" There was clear anger on Reya's face.

Vila scrunched into the couch and tried to make himself smaller. He looked desperately at the exit stairs and wondered if he could make a run for it. It never seemed like that far before.

Argus handed the doll to the curious Avon and said, "But the face looks just like you, Reya. It must be the action figure they were all talking about."

"It's offensive and I refuse to take part in something so…demeaning."

Argus looked at Avon for some help. "I know you don't like the publicity, Reya, but we agreed that it was necessary. That includes…these action figures. That's the way the Chandarans are with their Champions."

Avon turned the doll over in his hands, studying it carefully. The figurine was wearing a revealing, form fitting costume, and a pair of tight red boots. She had a golden band around her head. The ratios of body parts appeared to be extraordinary. "I see what you mean. It would be considered offensive to some people." He handed it back to Argus.

Argus asked in a perplexed voice, "_Is_ there something wrong with it?" He looked carefully at the doll again. He moved its arms and legs. It was a very flexible figurine, capable of a wide variety of poses. It even came with its own weapons, which fascinated him to no end.

Avon gave him a dark stare, one that spoke volumes.

Argus returned a mystified look because he liked the figurine and couldn't understand why everyone was acting so strangely. He was wondering if he could keep this one. He realized that he didn't have any pictures of Reya. This would do nicely.

Reya asked incredulously, "How could you ask that? Just…just look at it!"

Vila cringed and tried to make himself even smaller. It didn't help that Sester was staring right at him and was looking highly amused.

Vila had thought it a brilliant design. He had patterned it after some of the female heroes he remembered from his childhood days. Delta-vids for kids tended to be very colourful. It had been a labour of love to render Reya as one of his favourite heroines.

Argus said, "I don't see anything wrong with it. I know you don't like it but…"

Reya was almost shouting, "Argus!"

Argus suddenly felt very guilty, even though he had no idea why he should be. It was obvious that Reya was upset. "I'm sorry. I know it's insensitive but maybe…we can convince them to keep this as a limited edition figurine, that way you won't have to see them everywhere. Have them put more clothes on it. I'm not sure I'd like everyone to see you…like this."

Vila's vivid imagination began suggesting black market possibilities for the Reya action figures. Nooo. He had to reprimand his over-active mind that he was already in far too much trouble. It was only a matter of time before someone asked the wrong question.

Avon said with strong sarcasm, "It's amazing how dense you can be."

Argus said, "You're not helping, Avon."

"I wasn't trying to be." Avon almost seemed to sigh. "I would recommend taking a closer look at it."

Argus studied the doll again. Reya's face had been reproduced perfectly. It was beautiful. He held the doll up to compare it with Reya, who seemed to be glaring at him. "Could you give me a hint?"

Avon said one word, "Proportions."

Argus looked at the well-endowed figurine. Then his eyes brightened as if a light had suddenly turned on. His cheeks turned slightly red and his jaw dropped open as realization finally set in. "Oh. I mean, it's very…"

Reya said angrily, "It's disgusting!"

Cally, who was as outraged as Reya, said, "It's anatomically impossible for a human female to have these measurements. Unless it's a genetic mutation. Vila, would you like to explain this? I believe that you had a hand in the design."

Vila looked panicked as all eyes turned towards him. How was he going to admit that it was actually his design? As Reya's accusing eyes rested on him, he gulped nervously. "Well…it's like this."

Avon remarked with dry sarcasm, "_This_ will be fascinating."

Vila said with consternation, "Avon, you're not helping."

Avon said irritably, "Does _everyone_ _forget_ that I'm not the helping kind?"

Sester interjected, "You have been slipping lately. I wasn't going to say anything but..."

Avon glared at him, causing Sester to grin.

Reya had crossed over to the couches and seated herself opposite Vila. This made Vila even more nervous. There was no possibility of running now. All she'd have to do was reach out and…

Reya said, "Vila, tell me that you're not the one whose responsible for….this...this _thing_."

Vila's throat felt very dry and his voice sounded like it was an octave too high, "What if I said…yes? Are you going to kill me?" He looked down at the deck and wondered how easy it was to dig a hole. He could use one right about now.

Reya had a very displeased look on her face. "I will be very disappointed."

Vila grimaced. This was even worse than being killed. In an effort to survive at least until lunchtime he said quickly, "I'll…change it."

Reya could see beads of sweat were forming on Vila's forehead. She tried to soften her tone, "Whatever possessed you, Vila?"

"Well…I thought it was a good idea at the time. I mean, I see _now_ that it was a bad idea. Horrible. Terrible. The worse idea I've ever had…"

Avon said, "I wouldn't say _the_ worst."

Vila flashed him an irritated look.

Cally regarded Avon curiously. She projected to him, *_ Avon, are you having fun? _*

She could see the corners of his mouth twitch but he didn't respond. There was light amusement in his eyes. Avon was enjoying himself.

Reya asked, "Vila, can you change it? I would appreciate it."

"Well…I _can_. It won't be as popular."

Reya's face paled slightly. "Please don't say that they're already being distributed?"

"Well, I could _say_ it, but…" Why was his over-active mind not cooperating when he needed it? Black market thoughts it had plenty of…but ones that could prevent him from losing a few body parts? He would have to have a serious talk to his brain about priorities.

Reya groaned. "Vila..."

Argus tried to help her. "Reya, it's not that bad. I'm sure Vila meant it to be flattering."

Reya gave him a hard look that made him cough and stop talking. She said with great patience, "I'm supposed to be meeting with the Chandarans. The most difficult ones. They're going to be expecting…" Her voice rose, "…that! I'll have their attention all right, but not the right kind. How do you expect them to take me seriously?"

Argus looked mortified, "I…didn't think…"

Avon muttered, "Do you ever?"

This time Cally nudged him in the ribs. * _I think you've had enough fun for today. _*

Vila felt like he'd let everyone down. "I'm really sorry, I wasn't thinking. I'm…very sorry, Commander."

Cally wasn't happy with any of the four men. She asked, "Avon, why didn't you stop them?" She turned to Sester, "Or you?"

Avon didn't think it was reasonable that he was being included in this debacle when he didn't have anything to do with it. "I was busy."

Sester said, "You know no one trusts me enough to tell me what they're doing. If they had…I would have been able to stop it."

Argus glared at him.

Cally let out a sigh, "It appears that we can't leave the four of you alone."

Argus said immediately, "Just a minute…"

Avon's face was particularly inexpressive as he said, "I don't see how we can be blamed for this when it was Vila…"

Reya said with annoyance, "The four of you are supposed to be friends, aren't you?"

There was a very noticeable silence as the four men stared at each other.

Reya looked at each of them in turn, "If this had been Kerr, Jack, Vila and Charles, and one of you had messed up, would you be acting like this?"

The men looked both rebellious and embarrassed at having this pointed out to them.

She said icily, "You might try growing up." Reya turned around and stalked off the flight deck.

Argus said unhappily, "She's angry."

Avon looked at him and remarked sardonically, "What a brilliant observation."

Sester said to Argus, "I suggest you go after her. Unless…you want me to."

"Don't you dare."

Sester suppressed a smile. "What are you waiting for?"

Argus grimaced and almost raced out after the angry Reya.

Avon said to Vila. "I suggest that you fix the anatomical errors, _before_ the Commander discovers how detailed the reproduction is."

Vila blanched and glanced with panic towards the flight deck steps. He wondered if a spot of doll napping might be in order. "I…should change that right now." Vila rushed off.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Eleven

Vila had snuck into Avon's lab to use his computers. Well, he didn't actually break in, since the door was never locked, unless Avon was doing something he didn't want anyone to know. But everyone knew that the lab was Avon's private sanctum. You only entered on sufferance, unless you were Cally. And woe to anyone caught there when Avon wasn't.

It wasn't as if Avon had said so, but everyone knew it wasn't a good idea. Unless…it was the only place that a certain female Commander might not think of looking for you. Vila knew he was in trouble after the little stunt with the action figure. It wasn't as if he had been looking for trouble.

Why did these things have to happen to him? He had meant well. The action figure was patterned after one of his favourite Delta vid heroines after all. But now on second, third and fourth-thought, he realized it had been a very, very bad idea. What was he thinking? He should be past thinking of Vila's Royal Mounties. Vila's overly active imagination wondered how Corinne would look in a red fur uniform… Noooo. Mustn't think that. Bad brain. He was going to have to give his wayward mind a real sitting down. First priorities and…some other things. Which he really shouldn't be thinking of. Though he wasn't sure Corinne would mind some of it. It's not as if she knew…Noooo.

_I need a cold shower_. _Bad, Vila._

Vila made a few notations on the program he was using. The Chandarans had lent a Hero Generator program to him. He had used it to create the image for the Reya action figurine. He'd uploaded it to Avon's computer, and he hoped that he could remove all traces of it after he was done. How hard could it be?

He was having fun with the program. It had all kinds of options and was very easy to use. All he had to do was load an image (the details of which he'd obtained from Zen's medical computers, when Cally wasn't looking) and the Generator made a computer model of it.

"What are you doing?" A cold, disturbingly familiar voice asked from behind him. A shiver ran up Vila's spine. _Avon._ He quickly, and uselessly, blanked the monitor view to a menu screen, hoping against all reason that Avon hadn't seen enough to realize what he was doing. If Avon had…then he'd have to try to bluff his way out of it.

Bluffing worked best when you acted as if nothing was wrong. Vila continued entering commands at the terminal and muttered distractedly, "Working."

Vila could imagine Avon's eyes narrow into suspicious slits as he said sceptically, "Working? That's unlikely. What are you really doing?"

_Keep bluffing, Vila. Try to look smart and industrious. Avon respects that. _He turned to look at Avon, "Well, if you must know. I'm trying to think ahead."

Vila tried not to quake in his boots as Avon pulled up a chair, sat down, crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him impassively. Avon said, "That's even less likely. Would you like to try a third time?"

Avon had special security built into his computers that informed him if anyone had accessed them without his knowledge. Of course, he wasn't about to let anyone know that. That was why he was here, even though he had been working on something on the flight deck.

Acting intelligent and hard working was obviously not convincing Avon. He'd have to try something else. Vila eyed him carefully, "How about, I'm trying to keep my head attached to my body?"

Avon's eyes looked down at Vila's body and then his head. For some reason, Vila felt as if he was considering him as two separate parts. Avon asked, "Why?"

"I like my head; it goes with the rest of me."

Avon said dryly, " Then why doesn't all of you go? Such as back to where you were before you entered _my_ lab."

"Well, this is the quietest place on the ship at the moment…"

Vila reflected that if stares could push people out of rooms, it would be Avon's. Avon said, "Not anymore."

When you have nothing else to say…most people didn't say anything. Vila was of the opposite opinion. "Oh, come on, Avon. If I lose my head, who would let you win at chess?"

Avon immediately refuted something he clearly though was a fantasy, "You're delusional. You do not…"

Vila fired his next words quickly, "I nearly beat you the last time, remember?"

Avon, the man who did not like to lose, corrected him, "It was a draw. The last time I checked, that's not the same as winning."

Vila suppressed a smile. "But for you, it's the same as losing."

Avon scowled at him. Vila asked, "Well?"

Avon considered this, "Losing your head might improve your level of play." He paused as if he was contemplating how much. "But then…I wouldn't be able to see the look on your face when I win."

Vila grinned. "So you're going to help me?"

Avon's eyes narrowed as he realized this had been a ploy. He pointed out, "I don't believe I agreed to help you."

Vila's voice took on a slightly whining but sincere plea, "I need your help, Avon. I can't do this on my own."

Avon remarked, "That's highly probable."

Vila tried not to lay it on too thickly. Getting Avon to help him in order to distract him from being angry at having his space invaded was a tricky business. It was a good thing Vila was used to acting helpless and in need of people much stronger and smarter than he was. It was a very useful survival skill he'd learned. "I mean, you know I made a mess of it with the Commander. I don't know what I was thinking with the action figure. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Avon said with mild, almost-clinical, sarcasm, "All of your ideas seem like good ones at the time. Until you do them."

"You see why I need your help? You're the smartest person I know…"

Avon said with a voice as dry as sand on a desert planet, "While that will always be true, flattery will get you nowhere."

Vila realized he'd misjudged his Delta-needs-help act. There was only one thing to do, he grinned slyly, "You saw through that, did you?

Avon ignored the obvious question and leaned closer to read what was on the monitor. "What are you doing with _my_ computer?"

Vila turned back to his program, "Uh…it's the Hero Generator."

Avon's lips curl into a snarl at the hearing of that word.

Vila said, "It's a program I got from the Chandarans. I loaded it to your computer. I hope you don't mind."

Avon glared hard at the back of Vila's head. He minded very much, but unfortunately, the back of Vila's head couldn't see this.

Vila kept talking and facing the screen, seemingly totally oblivious that Avon's eyes are trying to stare holes into the back of his head for this blatant intrusion on his property. Vila continued talking, "They use it to design their action figures. I used it to design the one for the Commander. I'm trying to fix it so she won't kill me. And…I'm doing one of Argus. I thought she might like one." Vila ran through several menu items and retrieved a file. A heroic, muscular figure appeared on the screen. "You see? This is Argus."

Avon stopped staring holes at the back of Vila's head and looked at the monitor. He stared at the figure blankly.

Vila turned to gauge his reaction. "What do you think?"

Avon said flatly, "You made him Captain Space Cadet."

Vila's eyes widened in surprise. "You've watched the Delta kid-vids?"

Avon said, "Don't be ridiculous. I ran across…the name…accidentally. Typical lower grade entertainment. It makes no sense. Even the name is ludicrous. A captain would not be a cadet. That should be obvious."

Avon was touching on something dear to Vila's heart, the colourful heroes of his childhood days; splashed large across vid-screens, saving the Earth from disasters every week. And getting the girl. That was always his favourite part. "But that's not the point, Avon. It's the _idea_ of a space cadet. But he's also a captain."

The way Avon stared at him, it made Vila want to feel if he'd suddenly grown an extra head. Avon commented, "He's naked."

"No, he's not. He's wearing armour. But…part of it is…" Vila coughed. "…see-through."

"That's a completely irrelevant feature."

"Well…it's…uh…it just looked better this way. And I gave him a jetpack. I thought he might like one."

Avon said, "He'll love it."

Vila grinned, "Do…you think the _Commander_ will like it?"

Avon eyed him speculatively, "You _were_ thinking ahead."

Vila asked innocently, "Was I?"

The corners of Avon's lips threaten to rise and make his face seem less grim. "She might even forgive you."

"You really think so?" Vila fervently hoped so or all this work and his bravery in invading Avon's sanctuary would be wasted.

"Did you manage to 'retrieve' the doll before she got too close a look at it?"

Vila said confidently, "Of course. I can steal anything if I set my mind to it."

Avon said, "Anyone can steal. The skill is in not getting caught."

Vila said without thinking, "Like you were?"

For a brief second, there was a gleam of something in Avon's eyes that Vila had not intended and then it disappeared and Avon glared at him.

Vila realized what it was and was mortified that he had been so thoughtless. He had dredged up memories of the failed bank fraud, and most importantly of Anna. Avon had not talked to about the information that Sester had revealed about Anna. Vila said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Avon. I wasn't thinking."

Avon's dark eyes continued staring at him for a moment and then he turned his attention back to the monitor where Captain Space Cadet was still holding court. "Where are the other ones?"

Vila tried to sound as if he had no idea what Avon was referring to. "You mean the new one of the Commander?"

Avon's eyes narrowed and his voice was icy with warning, "Where are the _other_ ones?"

Vila blanched, "Alright." He activated the file retrieval menu and the screen changed, this time it was Cally.

He was almost afraid to look at Avon's reaction. For a second, he could almost swear that Avon's eyes softened, just a bit, and then he became unreadable again. Avon said flatly, "Next."

Vila hesitated. "Now, Avon…about this next one. It's just a rough idea…"

Avon said in a voice like steel, "Now."

Vila pressed a button. The screen changed again.

Avon exclaimed in a not too pleased voice, "That's you."

"Is it?" Vila moved his head closer as if he needed his eyes checked. "Oh, I suppose it is."

Avon's growled, "Vila…" And then he stopped and peered closer at the screen. "It's not you."

"Sure it's me."

"That is _not_ you. That's your head on Argus's body."

Vila covered the telltale body with his hand. "No it's not."

"Yes, it is. Even someone with low intelligence and limited eyesight can see that."

"Well, how would you know what Argus's body looks like anyway? Is there something I should know, Avon?"

Avon's eyes narrowed. "Anyone who exercises should know."

"Well, I exercise."

Avon said in a completely disbelieving voice, "Really?"

"I mean, I _could_." He wasn't about to tell Avon that the Commander had to chase him all around the ship just to get him to do the minimum. For some reason, she considered it necessary for good physical health.

Avon jabbed a finger at the screen, "What…is that?"

"It's a cat."

Avon said incredulously, "It has wings."

"I've always wanted a cat and…I thought it might be interesting to have one with wings."

"It's not real," said Avon.

"Well, how do we know there isn't one out there? Maybe the next galaxy?"

"Yes…why don't you ask the Andromedans?"

"Why don't I…well, maybe I will. When you finally get around to beating them that is."

Avon looked sharply at him and then inexplicably, he smiled. "Alright. Let's fix your 'action figure'."

"What's wrong with it?"

"You mean apart from the fact that it's a gross misrepresentation of reality?" He ordered, "Move." Vila got up and they switched chairs. Avon explored the program menus and options and quickly got a feel of it. He took the bare Vila template and began 'fixing' it.

Vila watched with nervous interest and then he began to protest, "But...but that makes me look like a clown!"

Avon continued working and asked absently, "Is there a problem? You wanted accuracy. Or was I mistaken?"

Vila grumbled, "But I am not a clown!"

"That's a matter of opinion."

"Shove over, Avon. You're not helping."

Avon asked reasonably, "Did I say I was helping?" He did not get up from his chair and apart from physically removing him from it, which Vila wouldn't dare do in a million years, Avon still controlled the Hero program.

As Avon picked the next menu item, Vila continued watching. "Wait a minute…what's a bustier?"

Avon didn't answer but he did pick a choice item from the new menu.

Vila said, "You're not putting that on me!"

"Watch me." The bustier went on the Vila-hero, giving it, in Avon's opinion, some much needed 'support'.

Vila's growl was a pale imitation of the low bear-one of Argus. "That's NOT funny."

"I think it is." Avon smirked. He was having a great deal of fun. Avon removed a few offending items and Vila-hero became a little less clownish.

Vila said, "That's better."

"But much less entertaining. Alright what colours do you want?"

Vila pointed out several that he liked.

Avon mused, "That's…an interesting choice of colours."

Vila asked immediately, "What's wrong with them?"

There was no expression on Avon's face. "It's just…interesting."

Vila sounded worried, "What do you mean 'interesting'?"

"Just a general comment."

"What's _wrong_ with them?"

"Nothing." Avon 'coloured' the Vila-hero with the chosen colours.

Vila looked suspiciously at the newly coloured figure, wondering what was wrong with it. He couldn't see anything. "Avon, can I have some armour?"

"No."

"But, I think I'd look better with some armour."

Avon pointed out, "You're a thief. Thieves don't wear armour."

"Says who?"

"Everyone knows that."

Vila had another idea. "How about a long flowing cape?"

Avon glanced at him, "Why do you need a cape?"

"I've always fancied one. It makes me look…more heroic."

"Capes and sliding doors don't mix. Unless you would like your motto to be, 'But My Cape Got Stuck', I'm sure that would be very 'heroic' once you explain it."

Vila spied something on the menu. "Ooo. An invisibility cloak. How about one of those? A cloak's not as long as a cape. It wouldn't get in the way of anything. Can I have one of those?"

If Avon were the kind who rolled his eyes at such logic, he would be doing that about now. Instead, he said in a flat voice, "You already have one."

Vila peered closer trying to spot it. "Where? I don't see it."

"It's invisible." There was a trace of a smirk on Avon`s lips.

"But…"

"You're finished." Avon saved the new Vila-hero.

"But that doesn't look very…heroic. It's…"

"It's you."

"But…it's supposed to be an action hero. It's not supposed to look like me. It's supposed to be…"

"Your head on Argus's body?"

"Well, I suppose that was a little too…"

"Beyond the realms of believability?"

"But…but…" Vila couldn't wait until Avon left so he could 'fix' Avon's version of him.

Avon had a serious look on his face. "You don't need anything else to be..."

"A hero?"

Avon stared at him. "I didn't say that."

Vila gave him an exaggerated wink. "I know."

Avon in return, gave him an irritated glare and then his eyes became hard. "You've been stalling."

Vila said with a nervous little laugh, "You noticed?"

Avon said with certainty, "I noticed."

"It worked for awhile."

"Is there a reason you don't want to show this to me? Other than the obvious?"

"Well you know how you hate heroes? I mean, you said that…"

"Vila…"

"I suppose I should show it to you…" Vila reached trembling fingers towards the terminal. He lightly touched a control. The screen changed again and this time it was a figure all dressed in black, like a midnight warrior. There was a golden creature, like a small dragon, on his right shoulder.

Avon stared at it without expression or any kind of response. Vila was wondering if this was a very good sign, or a warning that he should start running. He asked anxiously, "Do…you like it? I think the dragon shoots out fire but I'm not a hundred percent sure."

Avon turned impassive eyes to him. "It's adequate."

Vila grinned. "You like it."

"I didn't say that."

Vila said knowingly, "I know, Avon."

With annoyance, Avon stood up and said curtly, "I'm leaving. I have more important tasks. Erase the program when you're done."

"Oh, hang on. I forgot to show you the new one I did for the Commander." Vila quickly retrieved the image.

Avon looked at it. "She _might_ decide to let you keep your head but I wouldn't bet on anything else."

"Well, that's a start."

Avon headed for the door. Right before he left, Vila said, "Avon."

Avon turned back to look at him.

Vila said, "I…had fun. It was almost like old times."

Avon gave him one final stare. "I want a copy of the Cally one."

"Oh."

Avon was about to exit but he turned around again. "And mine."

"Right." Vila smiled. "And I'll fix mine."

"You don't need to, I never erased it. The original file is still there. Just remove the new one." With that, Avon left. As the door to the lab slid closed, Avon paused. A brief smile touched his face and then he headed off to his next task.

Chapter Twelve

Vila clutched a case his hands as he exited his cabin. Nestled inside the container were two important action figures, ones he hoped would make a certain female Commander happy and less inclined to having his head on a pole. He slinked along the ship's corridors, starting at every sound. It wasn't as if he was doing something illegal or wrong but it felt as if the occasion demanded some stealth. Though if you asked him why, he wouldn't be able to tell you. All he wanted to do was to sneak into the Commander's cabin while she and Argus were busy elsewhere (he'd already checked that they were), place the dolls in a prominent place and then get out without anyone noticing.

"It's not a good idea." Sester's voice said as Vila rounded the corner.

Vila's heart skipped several frantic beats and he nearly dropped the case. The psychostrategist was casually leaning against the wall, as if it were the most natural thing for him to be doing.

Vila looked around anxiously as he said, "Don't know what you're talking about."

Sester pushed away from the wall and came towards him. "What's in the case?"

Vila backed away from him, "Nothing."

Sester stopped approaching and gave him a friendly smile. "It really isn't a good idea. It's better if you explain to her in person."

Vila realized that Sester not only knew what he was doing, he had anticipated when he was going to do it and was deliberately waiting for him. He asked with resignation, "How did you know?"

"There aren't many options unless you plan to leave the ship. And even fewer options if you want to avoid a face-to-face meeting."

Vila said in consternation, "You know, having a psychostrategist as a friend…"

Sester grinned, "Yes, I know. But we can be infinitely useful."

"Well, how about coming up with an idea to get me out of this mess?"

"I already gave you one," said Sester.

"You call that an idea? If I wanted to lose a few body parts, I'll know where to come for ideas next time. If there is a next time."

Sester chuckled. "She's not going to do that to you."

"How can you say that? Did you see her face when she walked out? I'll be lucky if she stopped at a few body parts."

Sester shook his head in amusement. "I don't know why you're all so afraid of her. She's not that kind of woman."

"You've never seen what she can do with her thumbs. It's even scarier if you give her a weapon." Vila shivered just remembering a clinic she gave once on the creative uses of a gun, some of which he'd never seen before and never hoped to see again.

"I know what she can do."

"And when she looks at you sometimes and you know she isn't pleased…"

"Believe me; I know that look very well."

"Don't tell me _that_ doesn't scare you."

"No."

Vila paused to look at him. "I forgot. You still have feelings for her, don't you?"

The amused look disappeared from Sester's face. "That has nothing to do with it. But the issue here is not my association with Reya; it's _your_ relationship with her. Reya respects honesty and directness. If you want to apologize and to improve your relationship with her, go and talk to her. You won't regret it."

"I don't know…"

"It's up to you but that's my advice, as a psychostrategist and as a friend."

"Well…" Vila vacillated between trust, scepticism and the fear of the consequences. He said with a nervous smile, "What's a few body parts among friends?"

Sester gave him an encouraging smile. "She's on the flight deck."

Vila muttered, "That's easy for you to say." He headed towards his doom.

**********

As Sester had said, Reya was on the flight deck, working out some details of the plan with Zen. Vila gingerly went down the steps, trying not to disturb her. Reya nodded to him.

She finished, "Alright, thank you, Zen."

Vila was standing near the steps, afraid to come closer. Reya looked at him curiously. "Was there something you wanted, Vila?"

It was now or…time to turn around and run the other way. Vila plucked up his courage and said, "I…have something for you." He lifted the case.

"For me? Why don't you come in?" There was an amused look on her face. "I don't bite."

With a dubious look on his face, Vila came towards her, holding the box up in front of him like a peace offering.

Reya took the case and opened it up. "Oh." There was a look of pleasant surprise on her face. Reya put the case down and took both figurines out. She said, "Thank you, Vila. These are _wonderful_."

"You…like them?"

She gave him a smile. "I _love_ them."

Her pleasure made it all seem worthwhile and the smile on her face made her seem less intimidating. "I'm glad. I wasn't sure if it would be enough…after what happened…"

Reya had put her own figurine down and was taking a closer look at the Argus doll. "Vila, you don't have to be nervous around me. Unless you hurt him." She touched the doll's chest affectionately. "Then nothing can keep you from my wrath."

Vila was starting to feel nervous again, "I wouldn't dare."

Reya looked over at him. "I overreacted the other day. I'm sorry."

Vila couldn't believe his ears. "You're apologizing…to me?"

"Yes. Seeing myself like that and knowing that other people would…well, it made me feel very uncomfortable. Like an object. Not a person."

Vila felt terrible. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking of that."

"I know you meant well. It just…it doesn't matter." Reya picked up her namesake again and put it side by side with the Argus figurine, "I love these. Thank you, Vila. Though…the armour is a little too..."

Vila said quickly, "I can change that."

"That would be much appreciated. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep this one."

Vila grinned. "He's all yours."

Reya glanced at him for a moment. "Vila, the other action figure of me…I noticed that it's missing."

"I…well, about that…"

"Do you really see me that way?"

Vila wasn't expecting this question. Sester said that Reya respected honesty and so far things seemed to be going well. He decided to tell her the truth. "When I was young, we used to have these programs for kids. Delta kids shows. They had all kinds of heroes, usually going around fighting evil for the Federation." He stopped for a moment. "Come to think of it…it is sort of funny now after everything that's happened. But back then, we didn't know any better. And it was good fun. I had many favourites, men and women. But there was one…she was special. They called her, Wonder Woman."

"I don't think I need to hear anymore. So you see me as this female wonder?"

Vila was feeling self-conscious now. "You are sort of amazing. Some of the things you do…"

"Scare you?"

"I didn't say that."

Reya gave him a wry smile and then she sighed. "You didn't have to. I know that most of the men on this ship view me that way. I don't want you to. I'm just an ordinary person, trying to do a job. Not that different from any of you. That includes you, Vila."

"Now that's why you're intimidating. You do what you do, but you don't think it's anything."

Reya sighed again. "Thank you for these."

"You're welcome." Vila found that he felt a bit more relaxed around Reya. Just a bit. Now that he understood where some of his nervousness around her came from; it was almost like meeting a heroine from his childhood days.

Reya had never had a conversation with Vila before that didn't deal with ship's business or something to do with a mission or training. Now that she was developing a better relationship with the women on the ship, perhaps it was time to get to know some of the others too. At the very least, it would help Vila feel less nervous around her. "I enjoyed your magic show."

Vila smiled with delight. "You did?"

"You have a gift for entertaining and you and Corinne have a natural rapport."

This was a topic Vila could warm up to. "We have a lot of fun. She's wonderful."

Reya noted that Vila's face up lit up with enthusiasm at the mention of Corinne. "Another one, Vila?"

Vila grinned. "She's special too. This ship seems full of them: you, Cally and Corinne."

"As long as you don't make any more of those Wonder dolls."

"Oh, don't worry, I've learned my lesson."

**********

Spot came rolling around the corner and gave a little beep of apology as it nearly ran into Sester's leg.

Sester looked down with amusement at the little robot cleaner. "What are you doing, Spot?"

It said enthusiastically," I'm on a mission."

"A mission? What kind of mission?"

The little robot said in a hushed but happy voice," It's a secret."

Sester wondered whom this clandestine task was for.

"If it's a secret, should you be telling me that?"

Spot gave a little whistle of unhappiness." Uh. Oh."

There were three people he could identify who would give the little robot secret orders. The trick was finding out which one. "I won't tell anyone."

Spot whirled its ears in appreciation." Thank you!"

Sester bent down and patted its electronic head, causing Spot's ears to whirl even faster. "Now, remember, when you go back to your master, don't tell him that you told me about your secret mission."

Spot beeped unhappily.

"You won't be lying to him. You haven't told me anything about the mission. Only that you have one."

"That's true." It said but with a tone of uncertainty.

"Avon told you not to tell anyone what the mission was, right?"

"Yes."

"And you haven't. You haven't told me anything other than there is a mission. Avon never said anything about that, did he?"

" No."

"Then it's alright. You've followed Avon's commands to the letter. Just remember in the future, if you're on a secret mission, don't tell anyone that you're on one."

"Alright."

"Good. Off you go before Avon wonders what's taking you so long."

Spot beeped a farewell and rolled off.

Sester looked after it. _Avon, what are you up to?_ He doubted if anyone else knew that the little robot cleaner still answered to Avon.

**********

The flight deck was crowded. A dozen chairs had been brought in to complement the seats already there. The main leaders were in attendance to discuss the revised plan.

A list of names was being displayed on main view screen. Reya had the floor. "Marlena has gathered a good group of names. A third of them are bond-mates or daughters of the former President's staff. A third are like Marlena, people who were abducted or were spoils of war. We've picked ones who were fairly recently taken. The remainder were chosen randomly from those who hold positions of influence on Chandar. Ones who are most opposed to what we're doing."

Marlena said, "Of the three, first two groups will be easiest to work with. The last two groups will have emotional and psychological issues that we will need to deal with."

Argus was watching from the side, "Do we have time? We only have a month. That's just barely enough time to give them the physical training required if we want them to last more than a few minutes in any contest."

Cally said, "We have to make time if they are to face anyone in an aggressive setting. Especially with the last group. From what Marlena has described to us, Chandaran women are unable to stand up to a man. They are indoctrinated from childhood that all authority belongs to the men."

Argus said, "Then work with the first two groups. Let's not waste time on the third one."

Reya said, "It will not be a waste. In fact, it is this third group that will be the most effective in shaking the Chandarans."

Avon, who was standing next to Argus asked, "How?"

Reya replied, "That lies in the nature of the three challenges that Sester has devised."

Both Avon and Argus turned suspicious faces towards the psychostrategist.

**********

Jenna met Olean Rane again in his clandestine backroom retreat. The man looked tired and his eyes were blood-shot with strain and lack of sleep.

"You need rest," said Jenna with concern. "You should leave this work to the younger ones."

"You know me, Jenna. I can't rest. Not with this going on. Not when my people are suffering." Rane stood up and began pacing. "Just when we thought that the worst had past with the defeat of the aliens, this has to happen." Rane smashed his fist into the wall with an anguished and frustrated thud.

"I wish I could help." Even as she said this, Jenna felt like she was betraying their friendship. But there was no other choice. She could not pass up this opportunity. The stakes here were far greater than friendship.

Blake's warm and passionate voice came to her, soothing her doubts and guilt over what she was about to do. _Don't you see, Jenna? We don't have a choice. Some have to be sacrificed so the majority can live. In the end, it will be worth it. You have to believe, Jenna. _It was much easier to see the end goal when he was with her. His passion drove her on. He believed and that had been enough for her.

_I do want to believe, Blake. I have always wanted to. But no matter what, we will do this one last thing together. You will have the great triumph you deserve and your murderer will pay._

Jenna and Captain Atton had contacted the criminals who were responsible for Shade. They had come to a beneficial arrangement that would help her plans greatly and would bring Atton much more money than he could possibly dream of.

Rane held his sore fist. "It's nothing to do with you, Jenna. Thanks for your concern. As for the abandoned base you were asking about…"

"Yes, the one I started on…it seems like ages ago now. I was hoping to complete it. The rebel alliance will need a base in this area."

Rane sighed. "It's too bad that you never had the chance to finish it before. I might be asking you for help."

Jenna grimaced. She had abandoned her efforts here because she'd received word that Blake had died on Gauda Prime. Things were coming full circle. She would complete this base using an idea that Blake originally had to work with the Terra Nostra. This time, she would make it work.

Chapter Thirteen

The Red Raven crew had on their meanest and roughest clothing and were buckling on some heavy firepower. It made them seem far more like nasty, cutthroat pirates than the slightly-crooked-but-very-successful-traders look that they were all used to sporting.

Jenna's hair was cut short these days. Very different from the loose, feminine-appearance she used to have. Her cheekbones seemed even more angular and there was a cold barely-hidden darkness in her eyes that sometimes burned with ruthless fire when she thought about Avon and what she was going to do to him.

Prex, the dark-complexioned pilot was trying to tighten his belt another notch. "Damn. I couldn't have gained this much weight."

Edina, the red-haired navigator smirked as she checked her own svelte reflection on a reflexive surface along the bulkhead. "You're just lucky you could put those trousers on. Did you have to use a crowbar?"

Prex snarled at her. "I can still take you any day, Edina."

Edina taunted him, "Yeah, yeah, if you don't split your trousers first reaching for your gun."

Suddenly in one smooth motion, they both drew pistols on each other. The air was so tense that no one dared breathe as the pilot and the navigator faced each other across drawn weapons. Then Prex and Edina started laughing. They both sheathed their pistols.

Jenna eyed them dispassionately as she continued buckling on her own holster. These two loved egging each other on but it never amounted to anything other than posturing. Jenna wondered with irritation if every ship had to have a pair like this. She didn't remember her own trading days being like this.

Edina said with a chuckle, "You've still got it, you old goat."

"Still a touch faster than you."

"Oh yeah? Would you like to try that again?" Edina reached for her gun.

Prex held up a hand. "Any time but I think the Captain has other ideas."

They all stood up straighter as Captain Atton came in with the engineer RC and two heavily armed crewmembers. "Are we ready?"

Jenna noticed that he was dressed in an unfamiliar but functional earthy brown jacket and dark trousers. He looked like he meant business, the rougher business they were about to engage in. It seemed to be a look that fit him as much as the rich trader she was used to. Jenna knew that Atton was far tougher than he pretended to be. The respectful attitude of his crew told her that and the hard look he had in his eyes when there was something he didn't like.

Prex said, "As we'll ever be, Captain."

Atton said, "Stay sharp. These people play for keeps."

Edina said without concern, "So do we."

Prex said, "We've dealt with their type before."

Atton warned them, "Yes…but it's been awhile for all of us."

Prex scoffed as he took a pulse rifle from the weapons rack. "It's like riding your first energy-cycle. You never forget how." He primed the rifle. "We may be older, but none of us have lost our edge."

Atton's eyes were hard as he checked his own weapon. "I know. Or you wouldn't be on this ship. If we make this work, we will have more money than any of us could make in ten years of smuggling."

Edina said with a wistful look in her eyes, "I can finally buy that planet I've always wanted."

Prex said with disbelief, "You want to retire?"

Edina, "Did I say I was going to retire?"

R.C., the bald-headed engineer, picked up a rifle from the rack and primed it like a man who was ready for anything. "Or we could all be dead."

Edina said, "You're always such a bolt of optimism."

R.C. snarled, "These organizations that deal in drugs, they don't care about people, just profit."

Atton slid his gun back into his holster decisively. "Are we any different?" Atton released the hatch controls and said, "Alright, let's go. Jen, you're with me."

**********

Captain Atton and Jenna stood side-by-side at the rendezvous point as the others spread out behind them and found places with cover.

Atton remarked, "I would never have thought it of you, Jen." Except when they were alone, he was always careful to keep her cover.

Jenna continued staring ahead. "There are many things you don't know about me."

Atton said, "I get the idea that the fewer things I know the better for my health?"

"You're a smart man."

"That almost sounds like a warning."

She replied indifferently, "It's anything you want it to be."

As they bantered, Jenna was thinking ahead to her own plans. She would use the rebel base here as a cover up. They would set up the first Shade production lab in the Outer Colonies. With it, she would grow her own criminal organization. Answerable to her.

Then she would be able to use them for her own purposes. And if those actions were increasingly against Federation forces, there was nothing they could do about it. She would have her own source of Shade; she could make anyone do anything she wanted to.

She didn't have Blake's persuasive abilities or his masterful manner that overrode even someone as strong and devious as Avon. Jenna's lips nearly curled into a snarl at the thought of the traitor. Something must have been wrong with Blake that day when he met Avon on Gauda Prime. Avon must have come prepared to kill him and he had not let anything stop him, not even memories of a friendship that had obviously been a sham in that cold heart. Jenna shook herself out of these thoughts. She couldn't afford to have them distract her.

She didn't have Blake's talents but with Shade, she wouldn't need them. With it, she would be able to make her own terms and _persuade_ people to do what they should be doing in the first place, fighting the Federation.

A band of criminals fighting the Federation. Again. Jenna nearly laughed at the irony of that idea.

_An army for your purposes, Blake. You were right. If these people only understand the use of force, then we would use force against them. All of them. They will all do what you want. And if they won't, we will make them. Shade is a powerful weapon, just as Shadow should have been one for you once. I will make your ideas work. And I will destroy Avon. _Then maybe the guilt would stop eating away at her. Jenna's eyes burned with fevered resolve.

**********

The Chandaran Senate Chamber was filling with angry voices. A full meeting was underway, though if it weren't for the presence of security personnel at key and very visible locations, it would probably have descended into a brawl.

Reya, with Cally and Marlena standing behind her, was a bulwark of professional calm against the strong emotions being directed towards them. They watched the proceedings carefully.

Cally's senses were directed outwards, picking up the atmosphere of the room. The Chandaran Senators were a buzz of angry and outraged thoughts. There were a few who were not, these ones she remembered carefully for later reference and passed their locations to Reya using mental communications. Though it was a wasted effort, she also tried to identify any differences that would indicate that there was an alien presence. So far, there was none, but she knew that didn't mean anything.

"This is outrageous! I will not submit my property to these…these…" an angry Chandaran official sputtered, making his moustache twitch uncontrollably. He was unable to find a suitably vile word that would not result in his being taken away by one of the security people.

Interim President Trist said with warning, "Be careful, Senator Jernis. Or I will have you removed."

The man fell into angry silence and sat down in a huff. He did not want to be the one of many who had already been taken away from the Chamber for a mandatory cooling-down period.

Trist said, "I remind everyone that we all agreed to these conditions."

A shifty-eyed Senator named Patro, stood up, "Which _they_ dictated!"

Trist seemed to have infinite patience as he explained, once again, but not in a voice that sounded tired or impatient, "No. These were conditions which my government and the new Champion worked out together as fair and reasonable for the upcoming challenges."

Cally projected to Reya, * _They feel that the inclusion of their women to be an attack on them personally. They will not stand for it. _*

Reya nodded her head imperceptibly. She turned her head slightly and whispered behind her, "What do you think?"

Marlena, being the most familiar with Chandaran attitudes, had been watching carefully. "I think that Sester was right. You have no choice."

There was a slight grimace on Reya's face as she remembered what Sester had said to her afterwards.

_You have to do your hero act again, _Sester had said jokingly_._

She remembered her own annoyed response, _That's not funny._

Sester's customary light manner was suddenly concerned._ I wish that was all it was. I wish I could find a different way for you to do this, Reya. I wish…I hadn't told you about any of this in the first place. If I hadn't, you would never have been hurt the last time. And this…_

Reya was always uncomfortable when Sester was like this. The look in his eyes contained something that they both wished had never been, but she had said, _I appreciate what you did and what you're doing. I know you're doing it for me but the decision is mine._

_Be careful, Reya. _

Another one, a man with a stiff back said, "We never agreed to include our _property_ as part of the hundred."

There were shouts of agreement.

Reya composed herself. Normally the attitude of these men and the words they were deliberately using offensively would cause her to seethe with anger but she was prepared. Nothing was going to shake her composure or her goals. She stood forward, the consummate and cold professional. "President Trist, may I speak?"

Trist nodded in her direction, "Of course, Champion Reya."

Reya tried not to react to the title that seemed to be permanently attached to her name on this planet. "I understand the fears of…"

There was an instant response to the use of that word. Senator Jernis burst out angrily, "Who says we're afraid?"

Reya's voice was placating and reasonable. "My apologies, perhaps fear was the wrong choice of word." Despite her tone, Reya's eyes contained a strong challenge. "Then what is your concern?"

Jernis recognized the look in her eyes; his own contained hatred. "I did not agree that my property would be part of this test."

Reya was very reasonable, "But Senator, you did not specify that _your_ woman was to be excluded in the conditions that _you_ agreed to. But of course, as _leaders_ of Chandar, you have the power to not have your own..." Reya eyes swept the room slowly and deliberately. "…women included in this agreement. That is a difference in philosophies, I suppose. We had thought that since _you_ are the ones who made the agreement on behalf of your people, that you would also gladly volunteer your resources for this test. We were obviously mistaken. If you wish to back out of this contest…"

Jernis growled angrily, "I know what you're trying to do."

Cally projected to Reya, _* You have him. *_

Reya continued to maintain an air of calm professionalism. "And what is that?"

Even as the Senator spoke, his eyes held a very different message. "Chandaran _men_ are leaders by right. We do not back down and we are not afraid of…upstarts like you. Take my _property_, if you dare. Try to make something of _it_. In a month." There was a sneer on his face. "If you can."

Reya did not show any reaction on her face at Jernis words or to the ones Cally projected to her. *_ Jernis has murderous intent towards you. We will have to watch him carefully. And…it will not be good for his woman when she is returned to him. _*

They had expected this.

President Trist said, "Then it is agreed."

There was a murmuring of reluctance but no one else spoke up.

One of the other Senators asked, "Where do you want us to bring them?"

Trist said, "You do not need to concern yourselves. To save time, I have already asked the Champions to arrange transport for the women listed. They only needed my orders." He turned to Dannon, who was standing by the exit. "Which you have, Champion Dannon." Dannon bowed and exited the chamber.

Senator Jernis half-stood in anger but a cold look from Trist made him sit down again.

**********

Back on the flight deck of the _Justice_, the four men were watching a video feed of the Senate chambers while Avon was also working with the military engineers and some of the Tellaran technical people.

As they saw Dannon leave the chambers to enact the next part of their plans, Vila said, "Well, she's done it."

Argus was leaning back against his flight seat. He knew what Reya was thinking and how she must be seething inside at the attitude of the Chandaran men. Argus looked down at his right fist, it was clenched tightly, like a hammer ready to pound some sense into whoever needed it. He was a professional but that didn't mean he didn't have feelings. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"Not from me," said Vila. "But…they're all going to be after her now. I mean, even more after her."

Argus asked Sester, "What do you think of Jernis?"

Sester was sitting near Vila on the couches. "He's going to challenge her…and then he might to try to kill her."

Argus grimaced and turned to Lieutenant Dain, who was standing by his shoulder. "You know what to do? I want all of them."

"Yes, sir." Dain went off to give orders to his men to start shadowing Jernis and the others who had voiced their anger.

Argus asked Avon, who was bent over a piece of equipment, "Avon…"

Avon straightened up and stared at him, "Do you want me to check it again?"

Argus hesitated. They both knew that Avon was referring to the tracer that Argus had insisted that Reya had implanted in her neck, in case her teleport bracelet failed and they lost contact with her. Argus had been thinking about that but the tracer had already been checked several times. It was only his concern over Reya and his inability to help her in a more direct way that was making him act this way. Avon was already overworked, he didn't need to be hounded by useless requests just to make someone else feel less helpless. "No, it's not about that. How are you getting on?"

Avon looked down at machine he was building. "It will be finished in time, if you stop interrupting me."

Argus nodded with an apologetic look in his eyes. He was about to say something else but there was a beep on his control panel. The women were starting to be gathered up. "Vila, Sester, we're up." The two men followed him as they went to get ready.

Chapter Fourteen

[This scene occurs towards the tail end of the war that beat the alien invasion fleet, shortly after Star One was destroyed. Jenna is on the planet Morphenniel, several days after Jenna and Blake left the _Liberator_.]

Jenna looked out the window at the darkening sky. The clouds were moving in again, as it always seemed to at this time of the afternoon on this miserable planet. Soon it would pour. Not that she cared one way or the other. She rubbed the healing cast on her left forearm. It was starting to itch.

_Why, Blake? Why did you leave me on the hospital ship? I wanted to come with you. You knew that. That's why I left the Liberator with you._

Her life capsule had suffered a malfunction but she and Blake had been fortunate enough to be rescued by a hospital ship that was picking up survivors. Or so she had been told when she finally regained consciousness. When she woke, they had given a message to her from Blake. He had apologized for leaving but he needed time to think. He had asked that she not go after him. Not that she could have. Blake had left no indication of where he was going and from the message, it didn't seem like he was planning to come back.

Did she mean so little to him that he would dump her the first chance that he could get?

No matter what, she was worried about him. He was barely healed from the shot he'd received from Travis. Blake wasn't thinking clearly anymore. He hadn't in a long time. He had scared her sometimes in those long months they had searched for clues to Star One, from Albian to Del Ten to finally Goth. His refusal to give up under any condition had taken on an obsessiveness that driven them to the point of exhaustion.

He never talked about it to any of them but Jenna knew that Gan's death ate away at him. Gan had died for nothing and it had all been his fault. Blake could not live with himself for that. He had to make his death mean something no matter what it took.

It was like a fever that burned him up, making him unable to rest. The comfort she had tried to provide, he had spurned. She didn't know if he was rejecting her or if his obsessions left him nothing else to give her. But she would not give up on him.

A memory came to her. The day when they had finally found Star One and Blake, Cally and Avon were preparing to go down to end it, once and for all. She had been worried.

_"Avon?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Watch yourselves, Blake's rushing things. I get the feeling he's not giving himself time to think."_

_"Blake is an idealist, Jenna. He cannot afford to think."_

Avon had surprised her during those months of searching, enough that she trusted him to watch Blake's back. He actually cared about the man, more than she had thought. Oh, she had no question that there was a great deal of hatred there too, but Avon would never let Blake die. That was something she had discovered when Blake went to rescue his uncle and cousin from Travis's trap. Jenna grimaced. She preferred not to think about that incident and Blake's interest in Inga.

Jenna still felt sick to her stomach to realize how close Blake had come to destroying all of humanity in his obsession.

_What were you thinking Blake? Why did you ignore Avon's repeated warnings about the minefield and Andromeda? Why did you still insist on having the bombs planted even after you found out the alien threat was real?_

So close. A few minutes more and the entire minefield would have been destroyed and all of her own efforts to contact Servalan would have amounted to nothing.

_Blake. _Her heart feared for him. In many ways, he was as closed as Avon was. He never shared anything that was going on inside of him. Only his obsession.

In the end, his eyes had been opened and he had done the right thing. When the fate of humanity hung on the balance, Blake had convinced Avon to attempt the impossible. Something that Avon would normally dismiss as insane; to sacrifice all of their lives in a desperate attempt to buy humanity what few hours they could before more help arrived.

She thought Blake had finally woken up to what his obsession had been doing to him. To how it had narrowed his view until he could no longer see anything around him. But then, towards the end of the alien war, he had refused to leave the ship even though the life support was about to fail. She realized then that he had only traded one obsession for another.

He had almost seemed to want to fight to his very last breath, and theirs. If it hadn't been for Avon finally standing up to Blake and refusing to follow his orders anymore, they'd all be dead.

_Now he's out there somewhere. Alone. And he needs my help._

She whispered an anguished, "Blake. Where are you?"

"I'm here, Jenna." Blake's warm, soothing voice answered from behind her.

Jenna whirled around, her eyes opened wide in astonishment, scarcely able to believe that he was real. She hugged him fiercely, as if to prove to herself that he wasn't an apparition of her mind.

Blake's arms enveloped her in a warm embrace. "I'm sorry I left. You didn't deserve that."

In a voice muffled against his shoulder, Jenna replied, "It doesn't matter. You came back."

"I came back…to ask you to come with me."

Jenna lifted her head and looked at him. There was a haunted look in Blake's eyes. It had always been there, just beneath the surface, but now it was very visible. "I will always be with you. If you want me to be."

"I don't know where I'm going anymore, Jenna, but I know I want you with me. You were the one person I could always trust to watch my back. You…"

In his eyes, Jenna saw for the first time that he needed her. Not in the way he always seemed to need Avon. Or even Cally. She could provide something that the others never could. It was what she had been waiting for since that day in the computer room of the _London_ when she had set her hopes on a man who could still dream.

Blake bent his head towards her. Jenna could hardly believe that this was happening as their lips touched and they kissed each other with the passion that Blake had always denied to himself.

Jenna started awake with the memory of Blake's lips on hers. For a moment, she was so disoriented that she almost felt for Blake's body next to her. Jenna's fingers touched her lips. The memory had been so vivid that she could almost swear that he had just been there.

She missed him. He had become her whole life after that day; a broken man who had needed her, the obsessed man who could never let go and the man who refused to surrender.

_Blake. I should never have left you. I should have been there to stop Avon on Gauda Prime. _Jenna's jaw tightened in anger and the guilt churned inside, giving her no peace.

_I have to destroy Avon for you, Blake. And I will make your dream a reality._

**********

The largest cargo hold of the ship was now full of women. The one hundred selected plus Reya and her team. The three groups of women were scattered amongst each other. They all stood nervously, most were uncertain of what was going to happen to them. Others were afraid. There were scattered conversations, some angry voices and the occasional sounds of crying. They all eyed Reya and Cally, who were standing on a raised podium, with nervousness. Marlena, Corinne and the female members of the Tellaran group were walking among the women, trying to calm their fears and engaging them in conversation.

Reya surveyed the gathered women with resolve and her own nervousness. In some ways, she identified with these women. Her own experiences with her father had acquainted her with the feeling of being viewed of as something less than human. As a lone female trying to survive and excel in the decidedly masculine culture of the military life she had chosen, she had some inkling of what it was like for some of these women. But she knew that it was still a far cry from the oppression that these women had faced. She hoped that she would be able to reach them. Reya relied heavily on Cally's psi perceptions. She knew that the Auron woman had far greater sensitivity than she did to how these women must be feeling.

She turned to Cally who was beside her. "How are they?"

Cally said, "They're apprehensive. Quite a few are afraid." As she opened up her psi senses to the people in the room, Cally found she had very little in common with these women. Auron was an equitable society where women were treated equally and there were no prejudices. It was hard to have those kinds of narrow views of people, based on such inadequate things as physical attributes or accidents of genetics, when you could sense them on such a deep level and knew that you were all connected and the same. But because she could sense feelings in others, she did empathize with them and in that way, understand them. It was why she had decided to fight the Federation in the first place. The pain and oppression inflicted on others was something that touched her deeply.

Reya asked, "Nothing too extreme?"

"A few."

"Can you and Marlena take those ones aside?"

"Yes. I was about to suggest that."

"Alright. It's time to calm a few nerves."

"I'll keep watch."

Reya took a step forward and held up her hands for silence. There were a few anxious whispers and then all was quiet. Reya could tell from the looks on their faces that they knew who she was. She hoped that was a good thing amongst these women.

"Greetings." The way some of them were staring at her, Reya almost felt like an alien that had come down to their planet. "My name is Reya Reeve. Some of you may know me by my title, Champion Reya Reeve."

There were whispered echoes of her name amongst the crowd.

"I am from a planet several sectors away."

Cally projected quickly, *_ There is a response. You had better explain that. _*

"I am not an alien. I am a human female, just like you."

A dark and curly haired woman shouted, "You're not like us. You're abnormal."

There were scattered murmurs of agreement.

A slightly shorter woman beside her in a green dress said, "You're wrong. She is just like us. I used to be like her too. Well, not as good of course, and I was a free trader. I was taken three years ago when my ship crash-landed. I was caught in one of your wars and was shot down. It's been the worst three years of my life. I thank the stars that you came to rescue me."

Reya said, "What's your name?"

"Karita Dunn. I'm from the Rygel grid in Sector Six. When I saw you beating those…"

Reya nodded, "Thank you, Karita. We are glad to be of help."

"Yeah, well. Just let me know what you need from me so I can get out of here."

Reya said, "We will. We will need all of your help."

The dark, curly haired woman said, "Why should we help you?"

A soft-spoken green eyed-woman wearing a dark green dress said, "They're trying to help us." The woman was nervous but seemed to have decided that she needed to say something.

Reya said, "She's right, we are only here to help you."

Cally watched in fascination. Reya seemed to carry an air of authority that she had never noticed before. Normally this woman was a cold, competent professional; someone you did not want to cross. A person who kept in the background and made sure things went smoothly. Now she realized that Reya also possessed the natural leadership ability that Argus did, except that she kept hers veiled until she needed it. Argus exuded his authority by his very presence. Reya was consciously having that affect now.

The antagonistic woman said, "We don't need your kind of help. We're doing just fine. We don't need any foreign ideas from abnormal women."

Reya was not affected by the antagonism of the woman. She said calmly and reasonably, "I understand that not all of you want change. Change of any kind is a scary thing, but I want you to make an informed decision. I don't want you to go back to Chandar and your old way of life because it is the only way that you know. My way may be strange to many of you, but yours seems abnormal to me. We have different backgrounds and perspectives. All of you know that there is an entire universe out there beyond Chandar. Most places are not like this. Women have much more opportunities than they have here. Would you say that the entire universe is abnormal and only on Chandar are they normal? Or is it that every culture has different customs and Chandar is just one? I know that some of you…" She inclined her head towards the soft-spoken green-eyed woman. "…do want something more and I hazard to guess, have always wished there were more."

The soft-spoken, green-eyed woman seemed hesitant at the attention that Reya was directing towards her but Cally sensed that there was an inner strength to this woman that she tried to hide.

The woman wasn't used to expressing these kinds of ideas to others. It made her feel vulnerable and there was fear but she said haltingly, "I…" She looked around to her fellow Chandaran women and then to Reya who stood tall and who radiated intelligence and strength. "…I have always wished that there were more for women. Seeing you…it showed me that there could be more."

Reya said encouragingly, "There is much more."

The dark, curly haired woman said, "You must be one of those foreigners too. Abnormal women."

The green eyed-women's eyes were calm. "No. I am one of you. I am a Chandaran woman."

Reya asked, "What is your name?"

The woman hesitated. There was tension and nervousness on her face. "I…" She looked nervously around her again. "I want to know what's going to happen to us."

Some of the other women voiced their concerns as well.

Reya nodded, "You're right. You should know what's going to happen if you decide to stay. We have prepared some materials for you to see. That way you will understand how we have come to this point. And then I will discuss where we go from here. Most of you seem to know that I was made a Champion of Chandar. How many of you saw the challenges?"

Only a handful of women raised their hands.

Cally projected, * _That's not surprising. The men would not have wanted them to see a woman beating a man. _*

Reya asked, "How many of you are aware of what happened in the main hall when the alien plot was revealed?"

The green-eyed woman said, "I saw what happened on the vid-broadcast." It was something that she had been thinking about a lot lately. Cally could sense apprehension and a twinge of fear in the woman. "My…father didn't like what happened. He was mad that I saw it. I had … to promise…that I would not be like you."

At the impressions she was getting from the woman, Cally said sharply, *_ He must have punished her to make sure that she would not consider it. _*

That made Reya angry but she kept her composure and control. "I'm sorry…"

The woman said, "It's alright. It's not your fault." She looked up at Reya. "You help people."

Reya said warmly, "Yes, we do. That is why we're here. We want to help you."

"After this is all over." The woman paused. There was a hopeful plea in her eyes. "Can you…take me away from here? I want a chance."

Reya was taken aback by this request. None of them had considered or discussed what would happen to these women after the challenges were complete. They had only intended to help change Chandar society. But Karita, the female trader and those who were prisoners or had been kidnapped, would most likely want to leave. And women like this one, might seek sanctuary. What would they do with all these women? And how would they avoid conflict with the Chandarans? She knew that conflict would be inevitable if they did not return the women but as she looked at the sea of faces, she knew she could not deny their desires for freedom.

She turned to Cally and whispered, "Can you ask Marlena if the Tellarans can do something?" Cally nodded and closed her eyes. It was not as easy trying to project to someone she was not familiar with. It took much more energy and concentration.

Reya made her decision. "We will not return you to Chandar. We will protect anyone who wishes to seek asylum and not go back to Chandar. And for those who are prisoners, you will be free to return to your own lives. We will have discussions with the Chandarans to come to an equitable arrangement. No matter what happens, I promise you that you will not be returned if you do not wish to go."

The green-eyed woman said with cautious relief, "Thank you, Champion Reya. My…name is Kirsten Jernis."

Reya kept the surprise from showing on her face but she put one arm behind her and made a small hand signal.

Cally projected, * _Yes, Jernis. It could be a coincidence. _*

Reya moved her fingers slightly.

*_ Yes, we need to find out if she is connected to the Senator. _*

As she did this, Reya said, "You are welcome, Kirsten Jernis."

For the next little while, Reya had arranged to show highlights of her challenges and of the events that occurred in the main Presidential hall on Chandar, the day she revealed the presence of the aliens and was nearly killed.

**********

Just outside the closed cargo hold, as Reya tried to convince the women to help themselves, Argus, Vila and Sester were arranging trays of food and drinks on carts. Argus kept tugging at the collar of his pale blue shirt. It was closed all the way up, at everyone's insistence. For some reason, they all felt that some of his physical attributes might be distracting or intimidating to the women.

Sester eyed him and asked, "Why are you walking like that?"

Argus snarled with irritation, "Walking like what?"

Vila said, "I wasn't going to say anything but…"

Argus directed annoyed eyes at him. "But you're going to."

Vila grinned. "Well…it's hard to describe it. You look like, you're crippled."

Argus looked down at his feet. They looked strange to him. Instead of his normal military-type boots, he was wearing something Reya had described as loafers. "It's these shoes."

Sester had his ear to the door and was listening to what was going on inside. He said, "If they don't fit, there's still enough time to go change them."

Argus said with a disgruntled sigh, "It's not that. They fit. They just don't…fit me."

Sester chuckled. "Can't help you there, Jack."

"Stop calling me that!" Argus growled.

Vila's forehead was crinkled in thought. "It's not just that. You're…walking funny."

Argus asked with frustration, "What's wrong with the way I walk? I was just following Reya's instructions."

Sester's eyebrows rose in exaggeration and he asked, "She asked you to walk like a duck?"

Trying not to look as embarrassed and uncomfortable as he was feeling, Argus said angrily, "I do NOT walk like a duck."

Vila looked at the grinning Sester, "Don't mind him. You know how he is. You don't walk…" For a moment, Vila had an urge to giggle but he controlled himself. "…like a duck. But you do walk strange."

Argus looked down at his oddly adorned feet again. "Reya and Cally gave me some pointers. For the women. So I…won't intimidate…"

Sester smirked. "You mean that so you won't send them screaming in terror?"

Argus glared at him. "How would you like to be screaming in terror _right now_?"

Vila stepped between the two men. Part of him wondered why he was doing something this crazy. It was like putting himself in the middle of two loaded freight transports about to crash. "Argus, what did Reya and Cally suggest about how you walk?"

Argus took a deep breath and pushed down his anger and frustration. "They said…not to walk like I'm marching. And to match the way the women walk. That way, they won't be forced to keep up with me."

Vila said, "But there are no women here. Who are you trying to match?"

Argus grimaced. "I was trying to imagine."

Sester remarked helpfully. "That's never a good idea. I mean, for you."

Argus would have moved towards him angrily if Vila weren't in the way. Instead, he fixed him with another glare. Vila glared at Sester too. Sester grinned impishly at both of them.

Vila said, "Don't pay any attention to him. You had the right idea but that's an exercise that's better when there are women here."

The concerned Argus said with halting words. "I'm…just…nervous. I don't want to spoil Reya's efforts…by being me. Give me a battle any day. But…with women, I'm…at a loss. I don't know what to do or say or anything."

"You'll do fine with these women."

Argus looked at Sester in surprise.

There was no joking manner on Sester's face. "I'm serious. Maintain that shy attitude you have and…they might even find you cute."

Argus growled, "I am not cute."

Vila smiled as he remembered Reya's reaction to the Argus figurine. The one with the see-through armour.

Argus's face was threatening to take on a shade of red. He needed to nip this idea in the bud. It was detrimental to his image as the cool, hard leader.

Sester was back to listening at the door. "We're up." The door slid open. The three men prepared to push in the carts of foods and beverages.

Chapter Fifteen

When the footage of the main hall was shown and the aliens dissolved into indeterminate greenish blobs, the women fell into hushed and shocked silence. Even for those who had seen this before, it was still a jolt. Then, as the Reya in the vid lay dying on the ground and the crew and the Champions gathered around to protect her, the women continued watching quietly. For many, this was the first time they had seen this part of what happened. The original video feed had been cut when the aliens were killed.

As the vid recording ended, the women continued staring at the blank screen. They didn't seem to know what to make of it. As Chandarans, they were raised to respect courage and honour above all else. And those characteristics were the exclusive province of men. To see clear of evidence this in a woman was hard to believe, but what made even the most resistant of them hesitate, was Reya's act of self-sacrifice.

Reya stood forward again. "Before we continue and I explain what the plan is and what is going to happen, let's have a rest break."

The antagonistic woman asked, "Why did you do it?"

Reya said, "I told you the truth. I am here to help your people. It is my mission to rid this galaxy of the alien threat and save humanity. If that makes me abnormal, then so be it. I am proud to be abnormal."

Kirsten said in a quiet voice, "You are abnormal, aren't you?"

They all turned with shock to stare at her.

Kirsten faced them. She was still unsure of herself and expressing these radical ideas but Cally could sense a growing confidence. "Courage and self-sacrifice like that are rare. That's why we admire people who show these qualities. They're abnormal because normal people are not like that, not even most of the men, or they would all be Champions. It's so rare and abnormal that it must be honoured no matter who shows them."

Cally was aware of something else in this surprising Chandaran woman, not just hidden strength but a quick and thoughtful mind. Cally was aware of it as controlled but busy mental activity, somewhat like Avon's. It was an innate intelligence that Kirsten had learned to keep to herself.

If her father was the Chandaran Senator, it was no wonder that she would try to hide that she was far smarter than she pretended to be. Cally shuddered at the horror of a woman of intelligence who was forced to conceal it and who would never have the opportunity to develop or use it.

Kirsten turned to Reya, "That's why they made you a Champion, even though you're a woman."

There were stirrings among the women at this reasoning.

Kirsten looked down. Her next words were less assured. "But…you are a woman. That…means something." She looked at the antagonistic woman and asked nervously, "Doesn't it? It should mean something."

The dark, curly haired woman didn't say anything. There was still antagonism in her eyes but there was also uncertainty.

Kirsten's anguished face added a desperate hope to her tone that was hard to ignore. "She is a woman and what she did was very good, wasn't it?"

Cally remarked to Reya, *_ This is interesting. _*

Reya moved her fingers to indicate her agreement. Reya said to the women, "Please feel free to enjoy the refreshments. We will begin again in half an hour."

She signalled someone at the door. The large double doors slid open.

The women reacted with astonishment as they saw Argus, Vila and Sester rolling in trolleys laden with steaming cups of tea and small delicious pastries and cakes. They all took steps back as the men came forward.

In Chandaran society, women were not allowed to associate with men who were not of their household. To talk to one was a punishable offence. Even for those who were prisoners and not of Chandar, it was an automatic reflex that they had been conditioned to exhibit. Sester held out his hand and all three men stopped.

Reya explained to the women, "These are men from my ship. They want to show our hospitality and have volunteered to serve the cakes and tea. Do not be alarmed."

The dark, curly haired woman said, "This is wrong. Men should not serve women."

Reya asked, "You are not on Chandar anymore. As I said before, different customs apply outside of Chandar. Here both men and women can serve, according to their wishes. This is the wish of these men. They would like to welcome you by doing this. Are you going to refuse their hospitality?"

Cally sent Reya a mental chuckle. * _You've confused her. _*

Reya said, "The large one is Argus. The one waving his hand is Vila. And the other one is Sester."

**********

As the doors slid open and Argus saw the room full of women, for a moment, it was like the eve of battle and waiting inside for him was something formidable. But even against the most dangerous of enemies, he never felt this nervous before.

The three men rolled their trolleys forward. Argus was careful to match the speed of the others. It seemed like an unnecessarily slow pace to him. He would prefer getting this over with as soon as possible.

He noted the immediate looks of apprehension and fear as the women spied them. Automatic instincts of his mind already told him the exact distance between the line of trolleys and the first of the women, the speed he was moving and the time it would take to reach the women. The women backed away from them slowly. Sester held up his hand and signalled a halt. Argus didn't know why but he followed his instructions and both he and Vila stopped. He felt awkward as the women glanced fearfully at them without meeting their eyes.

Argus remembered that Marlena had told them the women of Chandar did not look directly into a man's eyes, they always directed their eyes downwards except with other women.

What were they supposed to do now? They were supposed to serve tea and…some other things. How were they supposed to if the women ran away from them? Argus wished the annoying psychostrategist would hurry up and think of something. The man was irritating but Argus had to admit that he did have his uses.

Reya calmed the women and made the introductions. Argus watched her with open admiration and affection. She knew how to handle these women and just what to say. He wished she would tell him what to do now. It wasn't as if he didn't have any ideas, but he doubted if any of them would be appropriate except on the battlefield or on a covert op.

_You mean that so you won't send them screaming in terror? _The annoying phrase inserted itself into his mind.

Damn that Sester. Why did he let the man get to him? The last thing he wanted to do was to scare these timid women. They were like skittish animals in the crosshairs of a laser sight, ready to bolt at the first sign that they would become someone else's lunch.

No. Hunting analogies are not a good idea right now. _They aren't…lunch._

Argus took in a deep breath and let out the tension slowly. It didn't help.

Reya introduced the three men. _The large one?_

Sester bent his head and said in a barely audible whisper. "Let's go, _large one_." He pushed his trolley forward before Argus had the opportunity to snarl at him. The three men moved towards the women again. Argus noticed that Vila and the annoying one were veering off to tend to the women on different sides while he continued ahead.

Argus was aware that he was moving faster than the others were and immediately slowed down. The women seemed skittish as he came closer but none of them moved away this time. That was good. Argus stopped several meters away so that they could take a good look at him before he did the next part.

He would have to speak now. Argus cleared his throat. Directness always worked. It shouldn't be that different in this situation. He looked down at the trays, his mind taking mental stock of the inventory. Steaming hot tea and tiny little cakes. He could polish one off in a bite.

He hesitated. Reya had said something too. She said to remember the voice he used with her sometimes in their cabin. It had made him feel uncomfortable that she wanted him to remember the gentle voice. But not too soft, she had said, or they would get the wrong impression. It shouldn't sound…intimate. How was he supposed to manage that? The instructions seemed daunting.

Argus pitched his voice as soft as he could but not too…he had no idea how to do that. "I have tea and some tiny little cakes." He almost sounded apologetic that they were so small. "Who would like some?"

None of the women made a move. There were strange looks on their faces when they heard his voice. Several of them whispered to each other. Others dared a look up at his face, but just a brief one. They saw his awkward uncertainty.

The reaction was not lost on Argus but he had no idea what it meant or what he should do next if the women didn't want what he was offering.

_Am I doing something wrong? _Argus looked down nervously at the tray, wondering if he should try one in case they thought it was poisoned. He glanced over at Vila and Sester's sides of the room. Both men seemed to be speaking. _Damn. I'm supposed to be saying something else? Why didn't someone tell me? What am I supposed to say? I have to say something. I can't just stand here. Maybe they need more encouragement. I'm bigger than the other two. Reya introduced me as the large one. That may have made them nervous about me._

Trying to maintain the same gentle tone, he said haltingly, as he felt for the right things to say, "I'm…not very good with words. But…I don't mean you any harm. I'm big but…I won't hurt you. I have these…small cakes and some tea. I thought you might like them."

Argus's gentle, almost timid-sounding voice and his faltering speech were causing more of the women to hazard bolder and longer looks at his face. There was growing curiosity. None of them had seen a man act like this before. Nervous, awkward, almost…afraid.

Their brief glances were accompanied by odd but intent looks on their faces. It made Argus feel very self-conscious. It was his turn to feel like he was in their crosshairs.

The female trader, Karita was among this group. Her initial apprehension at being in the presence of a strange man was fast fading in the presence of the anxious Argus. She recognized the tone in his stumbling voice. It brought back memories of the day the Chandaran's had thought they had finally 'tamed' her. After months at a 'training facility', and the pain, fear and anger, she had decided that pretending to give in was the only choice she had to survive. Her faltering words as she had been delivered to her 'master' had sounded a little like this.

She was aware that the Chandaran women around her recognized this too and were astonished. Karita reached for the courage she had dared not show the past few years and took a longer look at this man. She could tell that he was magnificently built even though every inch of his body was covered by clothing and his collar was fastened all the way up. The pale blue shirt and his shy manner softened the strong masculine energy he radiated. After the arrogant and violent Chandaran males she had been inflicted with, it made him beautiful in her eyes.

This nervous, beautiful man was like the ideal Chandaran male in physique but there was a vulnerability to him that made her want to reach out and gather him in her arms and tell him that he was doing fine. There was a mothering instinct at work and something decidedly not maternal.

Strong but gentle and soft-spoken; almost afraid of his own strength. Even outside of Chandar, a man like this was rare. She wondered if he was attached to anyone already. It was hard to believe that he wouldn't be.

Karita stepped forward and said, "I'd like some." Several of the other women followed her boldness but kept behind her.

The soft smile of joy lit up Argus's face.

**********

Vila pushed his own cart forward slowly. In his head, he was going over the advice Corinne had given to him. As he veered off to the left, he saw that Argus was starting to pick up speed with his trolley and was barrelling forward. Vila was about to say something but Argus slowed down and stopped before he hit someone.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he concentrated on his own trolley. The women were nervous and none of them looked him in the eyes.

_I'm harmless, _Vila thought to them as he came to a stop. He said with his least threatening and most ingenuous smile, "Hello, ladies. I have all kinds of delicious cakes and biscuits. Some wonderful hot tea. Don't be afraid."

Several of the women whispered nervously to each other but none of them dared look at him. It wasn't working; maybe he should try something else? The women weren't used to having men serve them. "If you want, I could turn around and you can take it yourself. I won't look. But…I'd really like to serve you."

The dark, curly haired woman was in this group that he was addressed. She said to the woman beside her, "This is wrong. These men shouldn't be serving us. It's unnatural."

Vila remembered something that the Commander had said. "It's natural where I come from. I'm a Delta. I don't know if you know what that is but…on Earth, we have grades. Everyone belongs to a grade and…a Delta like me, is one of the lowest ones there is. It's our job to serve everyone else and have everyone tell us what to do. Everyone treats us like dirt." Vila remembered up old feelings from the past, inadequacy and anger at the injustice of being a Delta. They weren't such old feelings. The insecurities and lack of confidence in himself still plagued him sometimes.

Vila's harmless, friendly manner and his identification with them made the curly haired woman forget that she wasn't supposed to speak to a strange male. "That's not right. You're a man."

Vila said, "That's how I feel about you. It's not right to treat you the way they do because you're a woman."

"That's different."

"I'm a Delta and you're a woman. Why does that make us less than anyone else?"

"But you're a _man_."

Vila could see this deteriorating into a…you're a man…but you're a woman… This wasn't going to get them anywhere.

He said, "When I see you…" He looked at all of the women around him, "I see people who could be…" He almost said, like the Commander, but that would have only confused things. "…like Reya. I think you could all be like her."

The antagonistic woman said dismissively, "She's abnormal."

A dark brown haired woman said, "But Sentha, she saved us from the aliens."

A woman in a polka-dot tunic said, "She…was very brave. She risked her life even though…" The woman looked around nervously and her voice lowered to almost a whisper. "…the men were trying to kill her. She kept her word and let them decide what they wanted to do with her. She didn't have to do that. She could have left and saved herself."

Vila said, "If that's abnormal, then maybe abnormal isn't that bad. I mean wouldn't you want to be abnormal and be able to save your world from the aliens instead of being normal and let people die?"

The dark brown haired woman looked nervously at Sentha. "Maybe…abnormal isn't that bad?"

Vila said, "You know all this talking is making me thirsty. Let's have some tea and we can keep talking about it. There's some delicious cakes too. We shouldn't let them go to waste. I'll show you my favourites."

**********

Sester pushed his trolley forward slowly. He wasn't a psi like Cally, but he had his own psychostrategist-developed sensitivities. The women were nervous and apprehensive. Not much of a surprise. He noted the conditioned and socialized responses, the lowering of the eyes in the presence of a male and the desire to move away from him because they were not allowed to associate with a man they did not know.

This would have to be done carefully. Which persona should he assume? Not his normal one. The charming rogue would not find a receptive audience here. Something more like the one he had been with Cally on the penal colony would do nicely. With some slight adjustments.

Sometimes, Sester wondered what his real self would be like, if he ever took the time to find out. Would it be someone that he would like? Sester didn't know. He had been assuming personalities all of his life, long before he met the others at the Academy. Maybe that was all he was. But it wasn't time to think about such things.

He needed to become a person who would allay the women's fears and encourage them to open up. Someone harmless, shy, caring, attentive, and who would automatically appeal to their natural nurturing instincts. The man that Cally had needed those years ago.

Sester's face and his posture reflected this new persona by the time he stopped several meters from the nearest woman, a far enough distance that they would not feel that they were having their space invaded.

He said with a friendly shy voice, "Hello. My name is Sester."

**********

Cally had opened up her psi senses to encompass the entire hold. She could feel the apprehensiveness of the women as the three men approached with their laden trolleys. There had been some nervous moments, especially with Argus, but now she was sensing amazement as the men began serving the women. A flood of different emotions now filled the room as the Chandarans interacted with the three men. There was still opposition but in general, things were going well. She and Reya were now mingling with the women, answering questions and getting to know them.

There was a strong feeling of embarrassment and nervousness still from Argus. She glanced over. The top of his head was the only part of him visible in the sea of women that seemed to surround him. There were occasional flashes of panic.

She caught Reya's eyes from across the room and nodded in Argus's direction. *_ He might need some rescuing. _* She sent a tone of amusement along with her message.

**********

Reya got Cally's message and headed towards the mass of women that seemed to be swamping her soldier. As she neared, and she caught glimpses of him through the crowd of bodies, her eyes widened in astonishment. For some reason, his shirt was unbuttoned halfway down and opened enough that his muscular chest was clearly visible.

Argus spied her approaching. There was a panicked plea in his eyes as he said an embarrassed, "Hello, Reya." He hastily refastened his shirt.

Reya remained professional and greeted them with a friendly tone, "Hello, Argus. Ladies. What do we have here?"

The female free trader, Karita, stepped protectively in front of Argus. Several of the women followed suit. Karita said, "Argus wasn't feeling well. He was hot."

Argus repeated, "Yes, hot."

Karita said, "So we decided to help him."

Argus tried to explain, "Yes, they helped."

"I see." It was very clear what was going on. She had come just in time. Her shy soldier had developed a few admirers. Reya sighed. She knew that he must have tried very hard in his own inept way with women. Somehow, it had made them want to protect him. There were also some other attentions being directed towards him, very notably from the female free trader, Karita.

_Argus, what am I going to do with you?_

Reya had a calm, professional look on her face but Argus knew that she wasn't pleased at the situation he found himself in. He had no idea how it had happened but all of a sudden, the women were all over him, wanting to assist him. They had all helped themselves to the items on his trolley even though he had protested that it was his job. Argus wondered if Reya would let him go back to their cabin and hide for the rest of this mission.

**********

Sester was doing very well with his group of women. They were becoming much more relaxed talking to him. Several were looking into his eyes now rather than with just brief, fearful glances. He allowed a bit of the charming rogue to come through again, but without any sexual overtones.

They were responding well. He occasionally slipped in the ideas that Reya had introduced in her earlier talk, seeding additional questions in their minds and moving them a little further along in their self-identity. It was not that easy to keep their attentions focused because they seemed fascinated by the idea of a man serving them. Sester wasn't surprised. So much of their lives had been forcibly centred on the men that it was natural that they continue this behaviour. He subtly tried to encourage them to think about themselves.

A woman came up to his nearly empty trolley. Sester noticed that this one had hung back and had been watching him serve the others and talking to them. It was good that she finally felt confident enough to approach him. She was the last one.

Sester handed her a cup of tea. She took it hesitantly. Her eyes met his for a brief second and she said quickly, "You're very good." Sester stared at her as Kirsten moved off before he could say anything in response. He had the distinct impression that she had meant something much deeper. She knew what he had been doing.

But that couldn't be. Sester shook his head wryly and smiled. No one could have noticed the calculating deliberateness of his actions. He was far too good and subtle. No one ever knew what he was doing. She was an uneducated Chandaran woman. He had to be imagining a meaning that wasn't there.

He looked up at the podium. Reya and Cally were almost ready to begin again. For some reason, Argus was standing to the side, near the podium. Sester wondered with amusement what trouble the man had managed to get himself into with the women. Argus had seemed to be doing alright the last time Sester had glanced over. The women no longer seemed intimidated. In fact they had seemed...Sester grinned. They had seemed far too friendly towards him.

Reya called for attention. Teatime was over.

**********

"Information."

Avon looked up from his programming work on the flight deck and asked, "What is it, Zen?"

The computer responded, "Incoming communications request from General Borel Reve's headquarters in Sector Ten."

Avon stretched his tired back. "Put it on the main view screen."

The screen immediately showed the young general. He looked tired and harried. "Avon. It's good to see you."

"General. How may I assist you?"

"I was hoping to speak to my sister, Reya."

"She is currently engaged on a mission."

Borel looked disappointed. "I don't suppose…of course not. Can't disturb her while she's on a mission. I understand."

From the look on the young general's face, Avon could tell that something was going on. "This is urgent?"

"It is but…can you tell her to contact me when she's free? After her mission?"

"Of course."

Borel paused as if he wanted to say something else but instead he said, "You look like you're busy."

"Yes, we are currently engaged on a difficult operation."

"Then I won't bother you. Thank you, Avon. Borel, out."

Avon's eyes were thoughtful as he wondered what Borel had not said. With another stretch of his tired and sore back, he bent down to his work again. Even with the clandestine access that the Chandaran President had given to him, it was still a difficult and complex task. It was taking all of his limited energy to be able to do what was being asked of him. Even with a strong heart, he did not have the physical resources he once had.

One of the Athol engineers called his attention, "Sir, do you want to take a look at this? I've completed it."

**********

Reya stood in front of the women again with the watchful Cally just a little behind her. Even without Cally's assessment, the faces of the crowd told her that the rest period had introduced some new ideas into the minds of these women.

She took another step forward. The women watched her intently. "I hope you had an opportunity to enjoy the refreshments."

The dark, curly haired woman who had heckled the proceedings earlier shouted, "You're a fraud."

This caused a stir. Reya managed to keep a neutral and controlled face. There were discontented and confused murmurs as everyone seemed to want to speak at once.

Reya put a hand behind her and made some signals, "Do you sense anything?"

Cally tried to reach out and pinpoint the woman who had spoken. * _Nothing specific but…there is something different. I feel…_" Her face tightened with efforts to concentrate and bring more detail to the vague impressions she was getting. "…_her objections are not the same as before._"

Reya coughed and covered her mouth briefly. "That's not very helpful."

*_ Sorry, that's all I can get. I'll keep trying. _*

Reya remained reasonable and unconcerned. She asked the woman, "What is your name?"

The woman eyed her with suspicious hostility, "Sentha."

"All right, Sentha. Can you explain why you think I'm a fraud? I would like to understand."

Sentha turned around and seemed to be searching for someone. She found Vila standing by the cargo hold doors. "Vila told us that you keep your own slaves."

This time Reya could not keep herself from reacting in surprise. She asked incredulously, "Vila?"

Vila's mouth had dropped open in shock.

Another woman who had been around Argus, spoke loudly, "Not just Vila. She keeps poor Argus too. He told us that he belongs to her."

There were shouts of anger. "She owns men???"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Sixteen

Captain Atton and Jenna looked down over the railing at the newly set up drug lab. Atton said, "It's taking shape nicely. You've done well, Jen."

Jenna said indifferently, "Yes." She didn't care what he thought, as long as he continued to play along. Soon, she wouldn't need Atton.

Atton regarded her out of the corner of his eyes. He said in a low tone, "One day, you're going to tell me why."

Jenna turned her head slowly to face him. She asked coldly, "Tell you what?"

Their eyes were locked on each other's like two opponents across a chessboard, trying to determine the other's strategy. Atton continued to keep his voice low so that no one could accidentally overhear. "Don't think that I don't know that you've been using me…" The corner's of his lips curled in the kind of smile that one hunter gave to another. "…Jenna. We're two old hands, remember?"

Jenna's eyes were hard but there was no fear in them. "What of it?"

Atton's eyes moved down to her lips and then back to her eyes. "We would make a formidable team, you and I."

Jenna's lips twisted in a bare sneer as she turned away from him and watched the laboratory preparations below. "Don't flatter yourself."

Atton stared at her cold profile for a moment before he turned to watch the people below. "You never had intentions of staying with me, did you? You've always had an agenda and once you got what you wanted out of me…"

"Let's not pretend, _Captain_. We are _both_ using each other. That's what we're good at." Jenna's tone sent a shiver up Atton's spine. There weren't many people who had that affect on him. This was a ruthless woman. Atton began to think that it was for the best that she didn't plan to stay with him.

**********

That night, as Jenna prepared to sleep in her new quarters on the rebel base, she stared up at the dark sky. Splashes of rain hit the window as if they were trying to get in. She was alone. Nothing could get in, not the rain, not Atton, no one to bring in a little heat into a heart that felt numb.

Atton kept pressing her but what he offered was not warmth, it was a working partnership at most and a little recreation. It was nothing that she needed. This morning's feeler from him had been a reminder that he was fast becoming a liability with his own goals.

_You weren't always so cold. _Jenna started at the familiar voice from the past. Tarvin. May he rot in hell, if there is one.

The memory continued to play itself in her mind. She and Tarvin on the flight deck of the _Liberator_.

She'd said to him, "_You weren't always a bounty hunter."_

The Amagon asked, "_Have you forgotten Zolaf Four?_"

"_Is it worth remembering?_" With Blake's life and freedom on the line, it had been a relationship that Jenna had wanted to deny. She had been attracted to Tarvin once. They were two of a kind. Just as Atton thought they were now.

"_Just the two of us in the mountains._"

"_And three hundred customs guards._" She had been something in those days. Jenna thought fiercely, _I still am_.

"_You saved my life._"

She had said, in the cold a voice that seemed to be the only one she had left now, "_We all make mistakes._"

Tarvin obviously remembered the same events with fondness. "_I thought you liked me._" It was more than like as she remembered the exciting days of danger in the hills and the nights spend in each other's arms.

"_Oh, I did. Then._" She had. Then.

"_Have I changed so much?_" Tarvin had sounded regretful.

The woman with the voice of ice said, "_One of us has_."

That coldness had always been part of her. Reserved for those who crossed her or those who got in her way. Or those who hurt the ones she loved. There were many people like that these days. The chief one being Avon.

Jenna twisted the material of the curtain, wanting instead to feel Avon's neck between her hands. She needed to feel the life leave his body. And then revive him and do it again.

_You weren't always so cold, Jenna._

Jenna started. It wasn't Tarvin's voice this time. It was a ghost from a past that she had almost forgotten. A female voice.

**********

"She owns men???" There were shouts of anger and outrage echoed in the cavernous cargo hold.

Argus was horrified. He was afraid to look at Reya. The last thing he wanted to do was to ruin her plans. He had no idea how he had managed it, but it looked as if he had done just that. He wanted to crawl away somewhere before he could cause her any more problems, but he couldn't just leave her like this. He had to fix this somehow. But what could he do?

Argus hazarded a glance up at Reya. She didn't seem angry, or even disappointed, she was staring at him with a strange look on her face. _She's not mad at me? _Argus was confused.

Reya said gently, as if she were handling a nervous and wild-eyed horse, "Argus, can you come up here please? Vila. Sester. You two as well."

Vila didn't know if he should go up. The only scenarios his wild imagination could come up with ended with his head served on a platter as an example to others. Somehow, these women didn't just think that Reya was abnormal, but now, because of him, they thought that she kept men as slaves.

He was close to the door. Running and locking it behind him came to mind. But if he did that, he'd be letting everyone down. He could see Corinne staring with puzzlement at him from the far side of the cargo hold.

How did these things happen to him? He had meant well and it had seemed like a good idea at the time. He had wanted the women to know that they weren't the only ones who had been treated unfairly and that he was just like them.

Vila saw Argus step onto the platform slowly and hesitantly. The man looked as guilty and terrible as he felt. Should he do the same thing? The Commander looked formidable and she was staring expectantly in his direction.

Vila plucked up his courage and his feet began moving before he could find more reasons why he should be running the other way. He couldn't let his crewmates down.

Vila stood nervously next to Argus at the edge of the platform. They looked like naughty boys who had just broken something. Even though mentally they knew it was a silly idea, neither man wanted to move within striking distance of Reya.

What made it even worse was that Sester strolled casually and confidently up and past them. He stood beside Cally, with a far too amused look on his smug face. For once, Vila felt as irritated as Argus normally felt towards the man.

Reya sighed. The two men were obviously feeling guilty and nervous. Unfortunately, it was not helping to dispel the image of her as someone who would own men as slaves.

"Argus. Vila. Can you come closer?" They hesitated but came forward with dragging feet and stood on either side of her. She whispered to them under her breath, "Don't worry. We'll fix this. I know you both meant well."

They nodded silently.

"And please stop acting like you're afraid of me. It's not helping."

Reya addressed the gathering, "I do not own either one of these men. We are all equals on this ship."

The hostile Sentha said, "You're lying. Vila said he was a Delta and that you treat him like dirt. Now you're going to force him to lie to us. Just look at him. They're both afraid of you."

Vila blurted out, "No. The Com…I mean, Reya…the Champion isn't like that."

For some reason, Sentha seemed to view Vila like one of the women. An oppressed Delta. A woman. Somehow, she had connected the two in her mind. "You don't have to pretend, Vila. Don't let her push you around. You don't have to be afraid of her."

Vila heard Sester's bare whisper behind him, "Because you're a man?"

Vila found himself repeating the question, "Because I'm a man?"

"Yes…" Sentha seemed about to say something but stopped.

Sester whispered again, "And?"

Vila repeated, "And?"

Sentha seemed confused. "I…don't know. I was…going to say…It doesn't matter what other people say you are. You're…not dirt, Vila."

Cally sensed that this was a crucial moment for this woman. She projected to him, *_ Vila, go on. _*

Vila stepped towards Sentha, stopping just at the edge of the platform. He said, "You aren't either. I _was_ a Delta. But I wasn't really, not inside. It's something the Federation tried to push on me but I escaped and I've joined the people on this ship. They're not Federation here. Reya isn't Federation. For the first time in my life, I'm free and people here treat me with respect. They listen to what I say. They don't see me as dirt."

Sentha said, "You're just saying that."

A female voice rose above the others, "He's telling the truth." Corinne stepped forward. "My name is Corinne Brent. I was born on Chandar but I was rescued by Vila when people tried to attack my home. I've been on this ship for almost a month now. What Vila is saying is true. The people on this ship treat each other as equals. They work together as a team."

Another woman with a thin face asked, "Then what about Argus? He said that the Champion owned him."

This time it was Argus who interjected, "No."

Vila stepped back and everyone looked at Argus expectantly.

Argus was feeling very self-conscious but he stood forward. Physical courage he had plenty of. He could face several armies alone and not flinch in the face of death but for some reason, standing here with all of these women staring at him scared him. "I…didn't say that Reya owned me. I said…that I belong to her."

The thin-faced woman said, "That's the same thing."

Sester knew there was one thing that would touch these women, something that would serve as a powerful image for them. A dream.

As Sester the man, it would be too hard for him to do. He needed the ruthlessness of the psychostrategist. The man who would do anything to complete his task; regardless of the consequences, to himself or others. He was this man once. It was never far from the surface. It was time to call on him again.

Sester whispered to Cally, "Tell Argus to explain why he said he belongs to her. He needs to tell Reya how he feels about her. Tell him to pretend that he's back in their cabin if he must, but this is important."

Cally tilted her head slightly towards him and asked in a quiet voice, "What are you up to?"

Cold and ruthless. Ripping past someone else's discomfort. Tearing into his own. "I'm serious. It will have a powerful impact on these women. It is something they have never seen before."

Cally turned her head to look at him. There was a disturbing intensity in his eyes but her psi perceptions of him told her that he believed what he was saying. "Something they've never seen?"

"A dream, Cally. One they have never had a reason to hope for. It would have been more effective with Marlena and Brent but…"

Cally realized what he was getting at and nodded her understanding. "Alright." She closed her eyes and concentrated on both Argus and Reya. She had never tried projecting to two people at once. She decided not to tell them that Sester was the source of this request. *_ Argus, tell Reya how you feel about her. Tell her why you said that you belong to her. _*

Argus and Reya heard her and turned a little to look at her in surprise.

*_ It's important. Don't think about anything else. Pretend that the two of you are alone. _*

Reya moved her fingers slightly in query.

*_ Yes, please trust me. This is very important. The women need to see the kind of relationship that you have. _*

Argus asked softly, "Reya?"

Reya nodded.

"But…" Argus wasn't sure he could do this in front of so many people. He was already dying of embarrassment at the idea.

Reya said in a low, barely heard voice, "I know why Cally is suggesting this. She's right."

Argus finally nodded. He really wished someone would let him go back to his cabin right now and hide, but he trusted Reya and Cally's judgement. Cally had suggested that he pretend that they were alone. He doubted that would help. How could he ignore all of those eyes staring at them? He could almost 'feel' their attention. This was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Argus nervously held out his hand to Reya. She took it and gave him a smile of encouragement.

Argus studied her face for a moment, drawing on her strength and calm. He had no idea what to say. All he had was the truth and his own ineptness at expressing it to her.

Argus said to Reya, but in a voice loud enough that everyone could hear, "I'm…not very good at these kinds of words. I…you know I always say the wrong thing." He took another deep breath before he turned his head to the say to the women, "The reason I said that I belong to Reya…is because…" He paused in trepidation. He could feel his face turning red in embarrassment and it was far too hot.

Reya said, "You don't have to say it."

"I want to. I just…want to say that…" His heart was beating wildly but didn't have the mercy to stop and spare him from this moment. He felt as if he was in a marathon and had just reached the wall that all runners had to face if they were to go on. "…I…" He nervously looked into Reya's eyes. What he found there gave him the flash of courage that he needed. "I…love you, Reya."

There was a collective sigh in the cargo hold as everyone let out a breath that they didn't realize they had been holding.

At Argus's declaration, Sester felt as if something sharp had sliced through his soul, leaving it bare and bleeding. Out of habit, he quickly hid it behind a mask of casual amusement.

He no longer wanted to be in this room. The psychostrategist had succeeded in his task and the man had failed. Sester knew that he had never stood a chance; his mind had always known it. Even as he could see the rise of hope in the faces of the women, he could feel the dying of his own.

Cally looked at him out of the corner of her eyes as Sester's anguish radiated from him like a wave of misery. She still had a great deal of antagonism and suspicion towards this man but it was hard to not have some sympathy when she could feel his pain.

Cally had always been aware that Sester's feelings for Reya were genuine. They were tied up in his own selfish desires. This made what he had just done, something remarkable. She would never have believed it of him. Despite herself, she was beginning to see him in a slightly different light. He was capable of acting outside of his own interests. This would require further investigation. Cally returned her attentions back to Reya and Argus.

In the audience, the woman who had known his pretence before did not miss the fleeting look of pain in Sester's eyes. That expression told her something she had not expected from someone like him. It told her that he had allowed himself to become a fool. And that he had no room for anyone else.

Neither Argus and Reya were aware of anyone else now as Argus continued saying, "That's…why I said I belong to you. It's how I feel. You…are the best thing that has ever happened to me. There will never be another woman for me. I belong to you. If…you'll have me."

A pin could have dropped on the deck and been heard outside.

Reya's could scarcely believe what was happening. "Are you…asking me to bond with you?"

They were no longer aware of anyone except each other.

Argus was full of uncertainties. His words came out in a jumbled rush, "You…don't have to if you don't want to. I'll…understand. I know you deserve someone better…someone who won't say the wrong things and who can make you happy. I…"

Reya reached up and touched his lips. Argus fell silent.

She said, "I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. There will never be anyone else for me either. I accept your offer. If you'll have me."

Argus still didn't understand what she saw in him. He was too aware of his own faults and the darkness inside, to ever believe that any woman would want to make this commitment to him. Reya constantly amazed and mystified him. He leaned forward and kissed the woman who meant more to him than his own life. She responded by putting her arms around him.

The women were in shock. On Chandar, this was the dream of a fool. A man and a woman who loved each other as equals.

No one wanted to break the spell in case reality intruded and they had to return to a life without dreams.

Vila found his eyes automatically searching for Corinne. She was still at the far end of the cargo hold but it did not take long to find her. They exchanged soft and meaningful glances as Argus and Reya kissed each other.

Sester felt devoid of emotion. He had become the cold, calculating psychostrategist again. The feared professional puppeteer who felt no pain because he had no personal interest in what was happening. He whispered to Cally, "Tell them it's enough."

Cally was aware of the strange shift in his emotional landscape. She could no longer sense anything from him except a sheet of blankness. The psychostrategist was in full control again. She projected to the couple, *_ Reya. Argus. _*

The two broke their kissed and took a step back from each other. They looked at each other shyly as they remembered where they were.

All of a sudden, everyone burst into prolonged applause.

Argus felt like hiding behind Reya until it was all over. Or he died…whichever came first. He said sheepishly, "I have the worse timing."

Reya was a little flush with embarrassment herself but she saw the looks on the faces of the women. For the first time, there was hope. She said, "No. It was the perfect timing."

Argus said, "I was serious. I meant what I said."

"I know," she said with affection. "Now let me do what I need to do."

Argus nodded.

Reya turned to the women and asked, "You all understand now?"

The woman in the polka-dot tunic asked, "Are there other men out there like this?"

Reya said, "I don't want you to make your decision because you think you'll find a relationship like this. What we wanted to show you was what is possible between a man and a woman. A relationship between equals. What's important is that you are women and that should mean something other than being a servant or being viewed as dirt." Reya looked directly at the hostile Sentha. "People told Vila that he was a Delta and that meant he was less than anyone else. But he's not. You know he's not, Sentha. People told you that you are women and that means you're lesser. But Vila knows you are not. Are you willing to listen?"

Sentha was guarded as she said, "I'm willing to listen."

Kirsten said, "I am as well."

The other women voiced their consent.

For the next few minutes, Reya outlined the Challenges that had been agreed to by both sides and the training that was planned for the women."

When she was finished, Reya said, "I am giving you an opportunity to prove to yourselves what you're capable of. In the end, you're the ones that must believe in yourselves, it doesn't matter what anyone else believes of you. No one can make you feel inferior if you don't let them."

Kirsten said, "That's easy for you to say. You didn't spend your life on Chandar and you are asking us to beat men who have spent their lives having all the advantages."

Reya's head nodded slowly and there was grim seriousness on her face. "I know what we're asking you to do seems impossible. It's not fair to ask this of you. If I could do it for you, I would. However, this is about your future, not mine. If you want to be viewed as equals on Chandar, you have to prove yourselves in the eyes of the men."

Kirsten said, "What you say sounds good. But as you said, we're the ones who are going to have to do it. What chance do we have? I want this…more than anything…but I don't know if this will work. Even with your training programs, I can't see how we can beat the men."

The other women expressed the same worries. They didn't see how it was possible.

Sester had been watching this exchange carefully and dispassionately. Filing the information for inclusion in his analysis. The woman, Kirsten, the one who had been the last one to take the tea from him, was asking some very good questions. He noticed that the nervous and hesitant air she had before was fast fading away.

Kirsten was obviously a woman who was not easily convinced by inspiring words. She had dreams that she was afraid to dream and she needed tangible assurances before she would commit herself. This was an intelligent woman. In some ways, she reminded him of Avon.

Reya was not fazed by the questions. Her mind was in battle mode, as sharp as a laser knife. She said, "I understand your concerns, Kirsten. The people on this crew are specialists, among the best at what we do. We have examined the Chandaran men; the way they fight, the way they think, their strategy patterns,…that was how I was able to beat their best during my Challenges. The men of Chandar have arrogance about their own strength and abilities and they think very little about women. That is their greatest weakness and it will be their downfall. I believe that you can beat them, or at the very least, give them a Challenge that will open their eyes to what Chandaran women can do."

Kirsten asked cautiously, "Can we go through the training and then decide?"

Reya was developing a great deal of respect for this woman. She had been planning to propose this idea herself but Kirsten had beaten her to it. "Yes, it is only fair. You will all have that choice. If you are willing to undergo this training, I think you will surprise yourselves with what you can do."

Kirsten looked down at the deck in thought, a comforting and familiar habit. She seemed to be weighing a continued life under oppression with the chance that Reya was offering her. Did she trust these strangers with her life and her future? Did she have any future without them? Was it worth the chance? It might be the only chance she would ever get to leave a life she hated. "I…agree."

The other women looked at each other and then slowly, one after the other; they also decided to undergo the training, as long as they had a choice at the end.

Sentha, the woman who had been most opposed to them, was the final one. Everyone looked at her, expecting her to be the one to say no. She said tentatively, "No one has given me a choice before. And…I never realized that people could look down at a man the same way they do women. I still…feel that you're abnormal, but Vila is right, it may not be a bad thing."

**********

As the women were sorted out in groups to be processed, Sester slipped out. He needed a few minutes alone. The psychostrategist had achieved what he set to achieve. The man now had to pick up the pieces of what he had done.

"Sester," Cally called his name from the door of the cargo hold he had just escaped.

Sester composed himself and turned to face Cally with his best friendly and casual manner. "Yes, Cally?"

"You did a good thing."

"I was just doing my job."

"I know it was hard for you."

Sester laughed sarcastically. "Why would it be? I have no heart, remember?"

"I was wrong."

He said coldly, needing it to be true, "You were right. I don't have one. Now if you don't need anything else…"

Cally came towards him. "You're in pain."

He asked scornfully, "Is that what your psi perceptions are telling you? Haven't you learned that you can't trust yours around me?"

"You tricked me but I don't believe it was all a lie. The only way that you could have fooled me was if it was not entirely pretence. Part of your act was real."

Sester said derisively, "I understand that you don't want to believe that you can be fooled that badly. Make no mistake, Cally, it was all an act."

"You don't want me to trust what I can sense from you now…because that would mean that you're vulnerable."

There was faint menace in Sester's voice as he asked, "Do you really want to play this game with me, Cally?"

"I'm not the one who is destroying himself."

"You're also one who shouldn't care."

Cally could sense nothing from him now except a high, thick offensive wall. "You're right. I shouldn't."

Sester said dismissively, "Go back to the others. They need you."

Cally said with a frigid tone, "You don't give me orders."

"Then stop trying to act as if what I did means something. It doesn't."

Cally stared silently at him for a few moments. "You're right, I shouldn't care." She turned and went back inside.

Chapter Seventeen

Cally sat interviewing two of the Chandaran women. Sentha and the polka-dot tunic woman, named Alara. She said, "I want you to think very carefully about these next questions. Have you noticed any changes in the men of your household in the last few years?"

Sentha asked suspiciously, "Changes? What do you mean changes?"

Cally said, "Have you observed any unexplained alterations in behaviour? Habits? Preferences? Perhaps something different in the way they treat you?"

Sentha sniffed, "Of course not."

Alara raised her hand timidly.

Cally asked gently, "Yes?"

Alara was still nervous, especially with anything concerning men. "I've noticed some things."

Sentha turned to the woman sitting beside her. "What do you mean some things?"

Cally said encouragingly, "It's alright. You can tell us."

"I don't know if I should. He's a man. He can change if he wants."

Cally said, "Alara, this is very important. You need to tell me what you've observed. The safety of your planet may depend on this."

Sentha snorted in rejection of this idea. "Safety of this planet? Are you trying to scare us so we'll do what you say?"

Cally was aware that Sentha still had a great deal of opposition to what they were doing. "We are not trying to scare you but this information is very important. Alara, tell me what you've observed."

"Well…" Alara began nervously. "My man never used to read much. He was always more interested in working with his hands. But a few years ago,…he started reading everything. He spends hours in front of the computer now."

"Can you tell what he's doing on the computer?"

"I…can't tell. I can only read a few words but I recognize the government seals on the screen."

Sentha said, "He must be working for the government now."

Alara had a troubled expression on her face, "But…it's not just seals from one department. It's dozens of them."

Sentha still didn't see anything wrong. "That still doesn't mean anything. His job may need him to do that."

Cally said thoughtfully. "Yes…he may have a task that requires that he gather as much information as he can."

Sentha asked sharply, "What are you talking about?"

Cally ignored her and asked, "Alara, have you noticed anything else other than increased computer activity?" Sentha was right. All of the new activity could be explained by a change in job and new work pressures.

"Well…he doesn't…touch me much anymore. He used to … be very demanding."

Cally didn't need any more details to understand what that meant. In lieu of any other test, she wondered if this would serve as a good indication of what they were looking for. If the Andromedans did not practice sexual reproduction, then they might find it an alien concept.

Sentha asked, "Did he get another woman?"

"No. I…don't think so."

Sentha said sarcastically, "Not like he would tell _you_."

Alara's eyes looked down at the floor. "No. I'm just a woman. He can do whatever he wants."

Cally was outraged that the woman would accept that she was something that could be dismissed like an outworn piece of clothing. She could sense that this woman wanted to be loved. Alara had fooled herself that the man who kept her might have cared about her on some level, even if it was only as an object he could use.

Cally said, "That may be but it could be something else."

Sentha asked with antagonism, "What else could it be?"

Cally was surprised at the bitterness that seemed to emanate from this hostile woman. Sentha was also one who needed someone to care about her but she had become very cynical about the whole idea. Cally was angry at Chandaran society. Not only did the men view the women as little more than property, by isolating them and minimizing their interaction with others, it denied them some basic connections. The warmth of human contact.

Cally finally realized something that Sester must have known all along. By risking her life to save people she didn't know, Reya had showed a level of caring that was foreign to these women. In addition, the display of love between Argus and Reya would have been a revelation. It was something that the majority of them must have tried to fool themselves they had.

Cally said, "We don't believe that the alien threat is over."

Alara looked at her with alarm.

Sentha bordered between scepticism and uncertainty. "What is this?"

Cally said, "The aliens have obviously been able to take over some of your men. They have successfully been able to fool them and assumed positions of power. We believe that the women of Chandar can be of great help in identifying these aliens. You know your men better than anyone else. If an alien has taken over someone, you are the best ones to notice any changes."

Alara asked nervously, "You think…my man…could be one of the aliens?" She shivered.

Cally said, "It's a possibility but don't worry. We'll find out and if he is, we will take care of him."

"If…he is an alien…then what happened…" Alara was too afraid to contemplate the idea.

Cally said empathically, "I'm sorry, Alara. It most likely means that your man is dead."

"Oh, no." Tears came to Alara's eyes.

Sentha put her arms around the sobbing woman. "It's alright. These people will take care of you. You won't be alone." Sentha looked at Cally.

Cally nodded. "Yes, we will take care of you, Alara. You don't have to be afraid. We will take care of all of you."

**********

Cally, Reya and Marlena held a brief meeting in a quiet corner of the hold. Cally reported what Alara had told her.

Reya made a few notes on her datapad. "That makes…eight potentials with three of those highly probable."

Cally said with concern, "That's a higher percentage than we thought."

Marlena didn't like the numbers either but she understood them. "I chose women from households where men have power and influence in Chandaran society."

Cally said, "It does make sense but it's troubling. It means that they are still a great threat here."

Reya said, "That's what we were afraid of. Are your teams ready once we've gathered enough information?"

Cally said confidently, "They're just waiting for your word."

"Alright. We will need to give this information to Avon and let Argus know. We'll have to start tracking the activities of these eight men. How many more interviews do we have left?"

Marlena replied, "We've complete eighty percent. The rest are undergoing physical examinations and tests from the other teams."

"So we potentially have a few more to watch."

Cally said, "Avon is going to need help." She was already concerned at the workload that he was taking on. He still had a worrying tendency to continue working far longer than was healthy for his condition.

Reya pursed her lips in thought. Everyone was already working at maximum capacity. The soldiers were all down on the planet, conducting clandestine surveillance of key Chandarans that were trying to cause them trouble. They had to be very careful during this month before the Challenges were to begin.

The rest were busy with preparing the women. Now with additional pressures, they would all be even busier. "The engineers are not enough?"

Cally said, "Avon thought they would be, but he tends to forget that he can no longer handle the same workload." The discovery that the stress and long hours were already causing him back pains was worrying her. She was too busy with her own tasks to monitor his health closely and the Tellaran doctors had all been drafted to help with the women.

Reya said, "Alright. Let Argus know that as well. Have him ask President Trist if he might have someone who can help Avon."

**********

Argus went down the flight deck steps, glanced at Avon and the engineers, went over to the couches, and sat down heavily. He touched the fastenings on his shirt, absently checking that they were still done all the way up. The women were far away in the cargo hold area but one couldn't be too safe from their attentions. Especially the way some of them had been eyeing him since his embarrassing 'display'.

Avon looked up briefly, noted his anxiety and returned to his urgent programming work.

Argus expelled an aggravated breath and stood up. He went over to his flight station.

Avon glanced at him again and asked, "Don't you have something to do?"

"You mean, other than making a fool of myself?" Argus asked gruffly.

Avon lifted his fingers from the computer's input interface and stood up. He stretched his increasingly stiff back. "What did you do?"

"I don't know why everyone thought I should speak to the women."

Avon noted, "Group insanity comes to mind. I never thought it was a good idea."

"Yes, well, next time they should all listen to you."

There was a brief curl of amusement at the corner of Avon's lips. "Perhaps you could remind them."

Argus said a disgruntled, "I should retire and…go farm somewhere."

Avon's eyebrows rose at this outlandish suggestion. "Farm?"

"Something completely not like me."

Avon said with dry sarcasm, "Farming would fulfil that criteria, but then so would a singing lounge entertainer."

Argus shuddered to imagine what the women might have done with him if Reya hadn't come and rescued him. "Not if you'd been in the cargo hold just now." Though rescuing was a matter of interpretation considering what happened afterwards.

He could feel his face start to turn red again at the memory. Argus coughed and looked down at his flight panel, hoping that Avon didn't notice. He didn't regret what he had said to Reya. He didn't mind making the proposal of bonding. Argus just wished that his memories of it…wouldn't be full of so many people.

"I take it you were a source of entertainment?" Avon asked with dry amusement.

_Damn. He did see it._

Argus said with a growl of annoyance, "Can we get back to business?"

"I didn't know you had any here."

"Have any of the surveillance teams reported in?"

"They're not due for another three hours. Something you might remember if you weren't busy providing _entertainment_." Avon sat back down at the terminal and looked at the code he had been working on.

Argus felt restless at the lack of activity. "Is there…something I can help you with?"

Avon was irritated at another interruption and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I…needed a place to hide. From the women."

Avon's voice was dripping with sarcasm. " And you thought that the first place they would look, would be the best place for that?"

"They're all busy. They won't be looking for me yet."

"Then why are you hiding?"

"I…don't know. Maybe…I needed to talk to someone."

For Avon, this conversation was taking Argus-ian proportions and he didn't have any headache medication handy. "You thought I was the appropriate person?"

"You're…not a woman."

Avon's brow knitted at the wisdom of this logic. "If that is your only criteria…"

Argus said in a rush of words, "I asked Reya to bond with me."

Avon had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. "Ah."

Argus asked, "Is that all you're going to say?"

"I seldom comment on other people's personal decisions."

"It's not as if I planned it. I mean, if I knew when I woke up this morning that I'd be tying myself down…" Argus stopped as he noticed Avon looking at something beyond him. He swallowed as he asked anxiously, "She's behind me, isn't she?"

"You have impeccable timing," said Avon as he suddenly became absorbed in his work.

Argus grimaced. He stood up and said as he turned around, "Reya let me ex…" Coming down the flight deck steps was not Reya. "Oh…Cally. It's you." Argus glared at Avon.

Cally projected to the smirking Avon, *_ Avon, that was not very nice. _*

Avon thought to her, *_ How long have you known me? _*

Argus said, "I suppose you're here to see Avon. I'll…leave the two of you alone."

Cally said, "I'm here to see you and Avon."

"Oh. About what I was saying when you came in…it wasn't the way it sounded."

Cally said, "I know. You don't have to explain it to me."

"Your psi abilities?"

Cally reassured him, "I can't read your mind but you're a very straight-forward…"

Avon thought to her, *_ Not to mention, painfully obvious. _*

Cally sent him a feeling of irritation. "...man…unlike _some people_."

A faint impish smile curled Avon's lips.

Cally said to Argus, "I know it was difficult for you earlier."

Argus's face was turning red. He said, "Would you mind if…we don't talk about it."

"I understand," said Cally as she sensed his discomfort with this topic.

Avon's eyes narrowed. He had been certain that Argus had come to talk to him and now, when a much better suited person came along, he was refusing to? The man didn't make any sense. Avon remarked to Cally, *_ He's also irrational. He wanted to talk about it earlier. _*

Cally said, * _He wanted to talk to you. Because you're his friend. _*

Avon responded, *_ I don't see a connection. If he needs help, he should ask someone who is qualified to give it. _*

Cally asked, * _Avon, are you his friend? _*

Avon's frowned at the tone in her voice. He said grumpily, *_ Of course. _*

*_ That is what he needed. That's why he came to you. He needed to talk to someone whom he considers a friend. * _Cally's tone now contained light sarcasm, *_ Even you are qualified to be that. If you tried very hard. _*

Cally said, "Avon, Reya had an idea. She thought we might ask President Trist to provide someone to help you."

Avon said immediately, "I don't need any help."

Cally gave him a stern look, "Avon, how is your back?"

He said dismissively, "It's a minor inconvenience."

Argus was instantly concerned. "Why didn't you tell me you were having problems? I would have found you some help."

Avon said, "It's inconsequential. There was no need to tell you. When it becomes a problem, I will let you know."

Argus shook his head, "Knowing you that will be too late. Reya had a good idea. I should have thought of it. I will contact Trist."

Avon asked coldly, "Do I have a choice?"

Argus grimaced. "Of course you do. I was only going to find out if he could provide someone. The choice is still yours. But Avon…you know that we need you healthy on this. There are some things only you can do. If you're out of action…"

Avon said with a faint scowl, "Very well. Go find your help. But I have the final approval on the person chosen. And he must not be allowed to leave the ship until this is over."

Argus asked, "Isn't that a little too paranoid?"

"Better to be too careful than not careful enough."

"We might not find someone who will agree to that."

Avon said, "That is my condition."

Argus sighed. "Alright."

Avon looked at Cally. "Is that satisfactory?"

Cally said, "I am only concerned about you."

Avon inclined his head in acknowledgment. *_ I know. _*

Cally turned to Argus, "Reya is routing the information we've gathered from the interviews to Avon's station. We have eight possible so far.*

Argus and Avon went over to Avon's flight position. Avon began analyzing the data.

Argus was looking over his shoulder. "This is good. Tell the teams they've done well."

Cally said, "I will pass on the message."

Argus asked, "How many do we need to add to the list?"

Avon displayed the names on the screen, "These six."

Argus said wryly, "It's too bad Jernis isn't on it."

Avon continued looking at the information as he remarked, "Yes…it would have been a convenient way to remove an obstacle. Some of these are already under surveillance."

Cally said, "Jernis might not be on it but there has been a development that does concern him."

The two men looked at her with questioning eyes. She told them of Kirsten and the request from several of the women to be taken away from Chandar.

Afterwards Avon looked at Argus.

Argus said, "It's going to be tricky with Jernis. He's not going to like it."

Avon said flatly, "That would be an understatement."

Argus rubbed the side of his neck. "But Reya's right, we can't give them back if they ask for asylum."

Avon frowned. "I knew you were going to say that."

Argus asked, "You have a different idea?"

"Give them back."

Argus shook his head. "They're not property, Avon, even if they are to the Chandaran men. We have to help these women, that's what we're here for."

"Are we? I thought we came to Chandar to remove the alien threat? That should be our first priority."

"It still is."

Avon said, "I agreed to help because this does not interfere with our primary goal, but what you are proposing is madness. Antagonizing men like Jernis will only make our task more difficult."

Cally knew that if Avon had had a chance to see the women, despite his resistance, he would end up helping. It was something that he considered his weakness. She knew it was why he preferred to distance himself and tried to only rely on objective rationality. Involving himself with others, even total strangers, made him do things that his logical mind told him was irrational to his own survival and the meeting of his goals.

Avon had been isolated on the flight deck, away from the women. She knew that in order to convince him, she had to break his objectivity. *_ Avon. _*

At her sober tone, Avon turned to look at her. Cally said to Argus, "I need to talk to Avon alone." Argus nodded and moved away from Avon's flight station to give them some space.

Cally said, *_ Avon, do you remember what it was like at the Detention Centre? _*

Avon's jaw tightened. Thoughts of that place always brought phantom pains and a sense of being trapped. He conveyed an anguished, *_ I remember. _*

*_ What Servalan had done to you there was inhuman. She treated you as a piece of property that she owned and you were helpless. That is what it is like for these women. You have been shut away here on the flight deck. You have not had the opportunity to see them. _*

Avon said, * _You think that it would make a difference if I did see them? _* Against his control, emotions began to surface. Helplessness and anger. The feeling of being treated as an object. Avon's eyes closed, trying to fight the tide of emotions that threatened to overwhelm his protective walls.

Cally touched his arm as she felt him fighting for control. She had wanted him to connect to the women on an emotional level by drawing on his personal experiences. She had not wanted him to be overcome by them. Cally sent him a sense of calm and strength as she projected, *_ Avon, I'm sorry. But I needed you to understand. _*

Avon didn't know if it was something Cally was doing or if it was something that had changed inside him but for a moment, it was as if he was one of the women. He had experiences in common with these women, not just at the Detention Centre, but most of his life. A person with brains and no power or wealth of his own, was little more than an expendable tool for the Federation. And now he knew that it had been like that since he was a child. He said, * _You've made your point, Cally. But don't do that again. _*

Cally's mental projection was apologetic. *_ I'm sorry, Avon. I never meant to manipulate you. _*

*_ Yes, you did. _* She had taken advantage of his weakened mental and emotional control and the power of his memories. Avon's eyes did not move from hers as he sought to understand their relationship and his own feelings.

Cally could sense Avon's internal struggle; old protective instincts that would not die. Would they lose a little trust because of this? Had she jeopardized the progress they had made?

Cally could sense no anger from his despite the accusing tone in his thoughts. What she felt from him was much worse, it was disappointment. It meant that he still trusted her even though her actions had hurt him. He loved her as he had once loved Anna, and he was fighting to leave himself open to her.

It was something that had surprised her about Avon during the whole episode with Anna. Avon's love for Anna had survived her betrayal of him and even Anna's attempt to murder him. Despite what Anna had done, Avon still held her tenderly and did not want to leave her, even in death. Cally doubted if he would have killed Anna if she hadn't tried to shoot him in the back. She had never felt any anger from Avon towards Anna either, only disappointment, pain and the feeling that he had been a fool.

Cally knew that this was the kind of love he had for her now. It filled her with guilt at what she had just done. Manipulation was something Avon hated. It was one person's attempt to control another. For him it was as bad as having a gun put to his head because he was vulnerable to it. She said apologetically, *_ It was wrong of me, Avon. I should not have done that to you. If I wanted you to understand the women, I should have asked you to visit the cargo hold. I should have given you that choice. _*

Avon finally thought to her, *_ Even if you think that I'm going to make a choice different from yours? _*

*_ Yes, Avon. Love is about respecting someone enough that we accept their differences, even if we don't agree with them._ *

*_ Most people would agree with you in principle but not in practice. _*

*_ Then their love is about domination and making others in their own image. Control is love of self, not love of the other. _*

Avon's thoughts were no longer as hard. * _Is that an Auron saying? _*

*_ No. _*

Avon sent to her a light thought, * _It should be. _* The tension had passed and his hard eyes softened slightly. * _The Chandaran men dominate and control their women. _*

Cally started at the unexpectedness of this statement. * _You think that selfishness overcoming sentiment might explain how Chandaran culture developed to where it is now? _*

*_ Looking at it from a purely objective viewpoint of course. _*

A smile touched Cally's lips, * _It may have been one factor. _*

Avon changed to verbal mode and said to Argus who was talking to one of the engineers, "We should involve Sester if we're going to do this."

Argus scowled, "Do we have to?"

Chapter Eighteen

Argus hung around just outside the door to the gym, trying to keep out of sight as he observed Corinne and her team take the women through some basic limbering exercises. The Chandaran women were hesitant at first. None of them had engaged in this type of activity before but Corinne's enthusiasm was infectious and she made it fun, more like a dance.

"Why don't you go inside?" Reya asked as she came up behind him and nearly caused him to jump. She was one of the few people who could sneak up on him undetected.

"I'd better not. Don't want to distract them."

"Then why are you here?" Reya asked as she stood beside him and watched the women becoming more comfortable with the movements.

"I was looking for you."

"Well, you've found me."

"Yes…um…I..."

Reya eyed him curiously. "This is a social visit?"

Argus asked with dismay, "Am I that transparent?"

She smiled fondly at him. "If this were anything professional, you would be coherent."

Argus sighed. "I should work on that."

Reya put an arm around his waist and leaned against him. "No. Don't. I think it's…"

Argus grimaced as he put his arm around her shoulders. "Please don't say it."

Reya grinned and hugged him tighter.

Argus grumbled, "The others are never going to let me live this down."

Reya asked, "Are you going to be this grumpy around the women?"

"I suppose it's not a good idea?"

"Not yet."

Argus turned to look at her. "Not yet?"

Reya said, "We don't want to expose them to anything negative until they build some confidence. But eventually, they will have to learn to stand up to the attitudes of the Chandaran men. We don't want them to fall apart the moment they enter the field of battle."

"That's a good idea. Why are they all in there now? Only two of the challenges are physical."

"The physical exercises will help them build self-confidence and it will bind them together as a group."

"It's been along time since I was a recruit. I'd almost forgotten that." He sighed wearily. "Sometimes, I feel very old. I've been doing this a long time."

Reya touched his face with concern. "Are you tired?"

Argus remembered his conversation on the flight deck, "Do you have a farm handy?"

Reya asked with bewilderment, "I have a whole planet. There are some farming grids on it. Why?"

Argus wasn't expecting this response. "Oh. I…never mind. I'll be alright."

She looked at him worriedly. "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry about me, Reya."

"Now I _am_ worried. Does this have anything to do with what you found out about your childhood?"

"No. It has more to do with me nearly dying of embarrassment in front of thousands of women."

Reya said with amusement, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure the cargo holds less than a thousand."

Argus groaned. "Reya, please."

Reya hugged him. "You were wonderful."

"I didn't feel like it," said Argus. "I felt like something in an animal observatory. You didn't see…how the women were looking at me."

Reya said, "Which reminds me…I was meaning to ask how you managed to get half-undressed earlier."

Argus winced. "I wasn't…not fully…or even half …it was…" His shoulders slumped. "I honestly have no idea. It was all a blur. I was trying not to scare them but..."

Reya said, "They ended up scaring you instead?"

"They didn't scare me. I wanted to be firm but…I didn't want them to run screaming in terror. So…I didn't."

Reya's brows rose, "Run screaming in terror?"

"It's something that…" It was that damned Sester. _Putting ideas into my head because he knew it would bother me_. "…never mind."

Reya said, "Well I don't think you will have to worry about that. I don't think screaming in terror is on the women's minds when they think about you."

Argus groaned again. "Now why does that scare me?"

Reya ran her hand through his hair affectionately. "The Chandaran women have never encountered a relationship like ours before."

"You mean one where you're wonderful and I can't seem to put two words together without having it come out wrong?"

"Don't be down on yourself. You try too hard. You think that you're terrible at our relationship, but you're not. I don't need flowery words. What I love about you is your honesty and directness. You treated me as an equal from the very beginning. Even more than an equal."

"That's because you are."

The warm smile on Reya's face softened her sharp features. "I'm not but you are sweet to think it."

Argus said, "Maybe you could use Vila next time you need a display."

"Vila is already doing what he needs to do and he and Corinne will be a good example but…it had to be you and me this time. It wouldn't have worked as well with the others. You're a dominant Alpha and you are the physical ideal of a Chandaran male."

"Maybe I should stop exercising."

Reya chuckled at that impossibility of that idea. "I don't think it will help. What they were drawn to is the idea that a man could be in an equal and loving relationship with a woman. You should come in with me. It will do the women good to see us together."

Argus said with trepidation, "I…don't know, Reya. What if they jump me?"

Reya said with amusement, "I'll protect you."

Argus still looked very reluctant.

Reya added, "Vila's in there already."

Argus asked with surprise, "Vila? What's he doing?" He peered through the door surreptitiously.

"What do you think?"

Argus knew how hard it was to get Vila to go anywhere near the gym. "Not exercising."

Reya said, "He's exercising."

"I don't believe it." Through the crowd of women, Argus spotted Vila at the far end. He was moving in rhythm with Corinne's movements.

_Rhythm?_ "There's music in there," Argus said in astonishment.

"Yes, there is."

"I thought they were exercising?"

"Corinne thought it would help the women feel more comfortable. And it helps them with their timing."

"Well, I suppose whatever works," Argus said dubiously.

"Are you coming in with me?"

Argus looked inside again. Vila seemed to be having fun. In fact, he was helping some of the women who were having problems with the more difficult movements. Argus said, "If I end up with my shirt off…I'm not taking any responsibility."

"Don't worry. I'll be in there. Your shirt is _not_ coming off, no matter how hot it gets."

"Oh…good."

Reya said, "Shall we?"

**********

Vila couldn't believe it but he was enjoying exercising. Corinne had a way of making it seem fun. Not like exercising at all. It was hard and sweaty but he felt good. The only difficult part about it was the huffing and puffing. He needed to be in better shape if he was to keep up with Corinne.

Vila stopped for a moment to help the woman beside him.

"I don't know if I can do this," said Alara as she tried to repeat the movement.

Vila smiled encouragingly. "You're doing fine. Try it this way." Vila showed her the movement again slowly. He suddenly noticed that some of the women had stopped moving and were looking at something near the doorway. Curious, Vila turned his head to look. Argus and the Commander had just entered the room.

There was instant embarrassment on Argus's face as he noticed the attention. He looked ready to bolt if Reya hadn't touched his elbow and whispered something. Argus nodded reluctantly. He said hesitantly, "Hello…everyone. Don't mind me. Please…keep doing what you were doing before."

Corinne said, "Yes, let's keep going everyone. Let's show Argus and Reya what we've all learned." She started the sequence of movements again. Everyone was trying very hard.

Argus whispered to Reya, "They're making good progress."

"Yes. Corinne has a knack of making it seem easy and enjoyable."

"The music was a good idea."

"We thought so."

The women finished the sequence of movements. They all turned expectantly to the watchers. Argus cleared his throat and smiled nervously. "That was very good."

Reya said, "You've all done very well. I imagine that you could do with a little break. Corinne would that be alright?"

Corinne said with a smile, "Are you going to show us something interesting?"

Reya said, "Argus and I will try to. Why don't you all sit down?"

Argus tried not to look nervous at all the eyes turned in their direction.

Reya said, "I would like to give you a little demonstration. Argus would you like to volunteer?"

Argus wondered what she had in mind. "Alright."

Reya said to the women, "We are training you so that you will reach a basic level of physical fitness. But fighting is not just about strength. It's about speed, skill and intelligence."

Argus grinned. Fighting was something he felt very comfortable with. A little demonstration might not be too bad.

Reya said, "When you fight a larger and stronger opponent…"

Everyone's eyes looked intently at Argus, noting how large he was and imagining the strength of the muscles the clothing could not hide. Argus felt uncomfortably naked under the intense scrutiny.

Vila was sitting down near Sentha. He was trying not to laugh at the clear discomfort on Argus's face. It was a good thing that Sester and Avon were not around.

Reya continued, "…you do not use strength against them. As women, we have a disadvantage when facing men. They are generally biologically stronger and larger."

Kirsten asked, "Then how do we beat them?"

Alara was discouraged, "If they're always stronger than we might as well just give up."

Reya said, "But you saw me beat the Champions."

Sentha said, "Yeah, but we're not like you, are we? You're…"

Reya asked without antagonism, "Abnormal?"

Sentha paused and seemed to consider her words, "No, not that. You're different. Unique. And you've had a lifetime of training. You can't expect us to be like you."

"No. That's true. But I _can_ show you how I beat them."

Kirsten's eyes were bright with interest. "You have a trick?"

"Not a trick. But I have a great deal of experience fighting men of all sizes, skills and strengths. I do not lose often. I know how to fight them. I studied the Chandaran men very carefully before I stepped onto the challenge field. I know their weakness and their habits. Cally, the Tellarans and I will show you the best ways to defeat them. How many of you think that Argus looks unbeatable?"

Vila looked around at the sea of instantly raised hands surrounding him. It was obvious that they were all very impressed with Argus. Vila looked down at himself and wondered what it would be like to have a body like that. He wondered if Corinne might like him a little more muscular.

Argus managed to look proud and bashful at the same time. He seemed to be standing taller and the muscles of his chest stretched his shirt.

Reya looked with amusement at her soldier. "Argus doesn't just _look_ unbeatable; he is also the best at what he does. Argus, why don't you show them some moves?"

"Alright." The opportunity to do something physical always made him feel better but he wasn't sure about doing it in front of all these women.

Argus walked over to an open area, stretching his arms as he went. He began slowly, each movement crisp and fluid, following an ages old fighting pattern. Gradually, his speed increase and each strike acquired deadly force. They could hear the swish of air that his movements caused, each one controlled and precise. It was as if he was striking the vital points of multiple enemies. He was as graceful as a dancer and his body flipped and twisted through the air like an acrobat.

Everyone watched with rapt attention until he finished and then they all burst into applause. For a brief second, Argus looked mortified and then he assumed a neutral face and nodded his acknowledgement. He went back over to Reya and had to stop himself from hiding behind her.

Reya said to the women, "I imagine you think that it would be impossible to beat him after what we've just witnessed."

None of the women answered but their replies were on their faces. They didn't think it was possible.

Reya asked Argus, "What do you think?"

Argus grinned. "I know better."

She asked, "Should we show them?"

"I thought you would never ask."

They both assumed a guarded fighting position, their bodies angled to present less of a target.

Reya said to the women, "When fighting against a stronger opponent, we don't use power. That would be pitting their strength against our weakness. But what if we could use their own strength against them? A man may have the power to knock me out, but that same power would also do a great deal of damage to him. If we know how to use it."

The two circled each other as she talked, testing with light jabs, which were easily blocked. Suddenly Argus punched towards her with force and speed. Reya moved just a little, one hand grabbed his wrist as it went harmlessly past her head and she pulled slightly so that he couldn't break his momentum and as he barrelled past her, she tripped his leg. The power of his movement and his off-balance weight sent Argus crashing loudly to the ground. Reya directed a quick but light punch to his kidney area and a knife hand chop to the back of his neck as he went down.

There was a collective gasp from the women. Several of them stood up and moved forward, asking with concern, "Is he alright?"

Argus held up a hand and got up. "Don't worry. Reya was easy on me. I'm not hurt."

The women breathed a sigh of relief and sat down again.

Reya asked, "Karita. You said that you had some fighting experience before you were captured?"

Karita stood up. "I could handle myself."

Reya said, "How would you like to brush up on your skills?"

"You mean…against him?" Karita eyed Argus with interest.

"Yes."

Karita smiled and came forward. She said to Argus, "Don't worry, I'll be gentle too."

That made Argus nervous as he put up his guard again. "Uh…thank you." This time he was careful to slow his punch just in case.

Karita was a bit clumsy and she missed the strikes but she managed to send Argus falling down to the ground.

As Argus got up again and straightened his clothes, Reya said, "That's very good, Karita."

The woman gave Argus a big smile. "Thank you…large one."

Argus cleared his throat in embarrassment. "You're welcome."

Reya addressed the women, "By the end of the training. All of you will be able to do that."

The women looked at Argus and chattered excitedly to each other.

Reya continued, "For those who are going to specialize in fighting, you will be able to do even more."

**********

Cally, Reya, Marlena and Corinne were unwinding from an exhausting day by taking a late snack together in the quiet dining area. The Chandaran women were already settled and resting in makeshift quarters that had been arranged for them in the various cargo holds and any place that could hold a cot.

Reya nursed a steaming cup of cocoa. "What do you think?"

Cally preferred some hot milk with a dash of cinnamon. "They're still somewhat unsure and there is fear, but they are all willing to give it a try. The captured ones like Karita are regaining confidence now they know that they won't be required to go back to Chandar."

"That's good. Marlena, have you heard from your people?"

Marlena also had a mug of cocoa in her hands. "Not yet. They will come up with a solution, even if we have to buy the women away from the Chandarans."

Corinne was uneasy at this idea. "Buy them?"

Marlena gave her daughter a smile. "We would buy them so that we could give them their freedom. We will give them refuge in the Tellar Union if they wish, or for those like Karita, we can return them to their home worlds."

Reya said with caution, "The Chandarans might demand a steep price."

"We will meet whatever price they establish." Marlena raised her cup to her lips and took a sip of the hot liquid.

The warrior in Cally didn't like conceding anything to the Chandaran men. She felt keenly the suffering and oppression of the women she had been interviewing. "We are not going to give in that easily, are we? We can't give them _whatever_ they want."

Reya put her cup down. "Don't worry; I have no intention of making it easy for them. We will negotiate."

Cally said severely, "Good. I don't like giving any ground to these men."

Reya said, "I know what you mean. After some of the things we heard from the women today, I'm very tempted to blow up a few things." She said apologetically to Marlena, "I'm sorry if that offends you."

Marlena said, "I'm not offended, I understand your anger and outrage. It is healthier to express it."

Reya asked with humour, "Just not that explosively?"

"Perhaps not." Marlena gave her a friendly smile.

Corinne asked hopefully, "Do you think that the men will give up the women without a fight?"

Reya said cynically, "I believe they'll live up to our assessments of them."

Corinne sighed unhappily and drank some of her own hot cocoa.

Reya said, "I'm surprised you would ask that. You know Chandaran men better than I do."

Corinne said, "I do know but…I wish things were different."

Cally could sense the feeling of melancholy in the young woman. "You have the optimism and hope of the young."

Corinne asked, "But don't you have hope too? That's why we're doing this, aren't we?"

A look passed between Cally and Reya. Cally said, "We do have hope. But sometimes…it is a fading one."

Corinne asked curiously, "But it doesn't stop you?"

Marlena said, "They go on because they refuse to give up hope, despite everything they've faced."

Reya said wryly, "We're stubborn that way."

Cally grinned, "Or a bit of insanity?"

Reya chuckled, "Now you're starting to sound like Avon."

Cally said, "We can't have that."

They both laughed.

Reya said, "Whether the Chandaran men accept the women leaving or not will depend a great deal on your team, Cally."

Cally studied the white liquid in her cup, wondering if more cinnamon would improve the taste. "It will have great impact on the women who choose to stay."

Marlena said, "My hope is that more of them will decide to stay."

Corinne asked with surprise, "Why, mother?"

Cally asked Marlena, "You're hoping that they will do what you did?"

"Yes. For change to continue, some of the women we are training and exposing to new ideas need to stay."

Reya said, "It will not be easy for them. Some of the men will not like that they've been exposed to foreign ideas."

Marlena said, "Yes, many of the men won't like it. Nevertheless, these women have lived in this culture all of their lives. They know how to cope and tell the men what they want to hear. But if they are serious about wanting change, which I believe they are, they will slowly try to influence their men to see things differently. In a way that will not make them feel threatened."

Cally remarked, "It seems as if there are a few more things that we need to teach these women."

Marlena said, "I will speak to them and I will arrange for the psychostrategists on my team to help."

Corinne asked, "Mother, do you think that one day…Chandar might change enough that they will join the Union?"

Marlena said, "Anything is possible, Corinne. That is always the hope of Tellar. It is why we do what we do."

Cally said, "It's why you decided to stay on Chandar even though you had the opportunity to escape?"

Marlena smiled warmly, "It was one of the reasons."

Reya drew her fingers along the edge of her cup. "We could do with some of that hope."

Marlena touched her arm. "You are giving hope to others by your actions."

Reya said, "We're only doing what we have to. I'm not that different from anyone else."

Marlena said, "You truly are the Champion that the women need."

Reya said uncomfortably, "I'm not any kind of champion, I'm just human."

"Just as they are. For the first time, these women are starting to think of themselves as people and not just property."

Cally said, "Sentha doesn't think you're abnormal anymore, Reya. That's a big step."

Reya heaved a sigh. "I don't think she's decided what to make of me yet. I'm sure it won't take much for her to think of me as abnormal again."

Corinne said, "Did you know that they're circulating those dolls of you? The ones that are…uh…" She looked at the surface of her cup in embarrassment.

Reya groaned. "Please don't tell me...it's the ones that make me look abnormal? I thought Vila said that he'd changed them?"

Corinne said, "He did. But…some of the original ones had already been distributed. Vila said that there might be…bootleg versions. I think he means that someone else is making them besides the official manufacturers."

Reya groaned loudly this time and put her hand to her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on.

Corinne said apologetically, "Vila is very sorry. He feels very bad that this happened."

Reya said, "He'd better be. Why didn't he tell me this himself?"

Corinne said, "He was afraid."

Cally chuckled and said to Reya, "I don't think the men on this ship think that you're normal either."

Reya scowled.

Cally wondered aloud, "I wonder who has these figurines of you and why."

They all stared at her.

Reya frowned. "It had better not be the men on this ship."

Chapter Nineteen

Jenna leaned on the railing with both arms and looked down at the working Shade lab. It was a hive of calm, antiseptic activity. The chemists provided by the criminal organization looked like normal, ordinary scientists. Not much in terms of facial expression or emotions and they always seemed to be studying you as if you were something under a micro-scanner. They appeared harmless enough, but the drug they produced was far from it.

Jenna avoided a grimace. Now that it was really happening, she was having misgivings. She was the one who had made the decision to become a producer and dealer in Shade. It would give her the men, material, and information needed for the rebellion and her revenge on Avon.

The lead chemist, a thin, hair-challenged and pale-looking individual approached her.

Jenna asked, "What is it, Finn?"

"The first batch is ready, ma'am. Do you want to try it?"

Jenna scowled. "I wouldn't touch that stuff if you paid me."

"Very smart. It's nasty stuff," said the man impassively.

Jenna turned and looked at the man. "If you know it's nasty, then why are you involved in this business?"

For the first time, the man showed some emotion. There was wariness in his eyes. "Why are you?"

"I have…personal reasons."

The man leaned on the railing next to her and looked down. "That makes two of us."

Jenna smiled cynically as she turned to look down at the lab again. "I doubt if your personal reasons are the same as mine."

"Does it matter? We're both here." Finn wrung his hands nervously.

Jenna glanced sharply at him. She kept her voice even, "You're not working for them willingly?"

Finn straightened up and said stiffly, "Of course I am."

Jenna realized that Finn thought that she was testing his loyalty. He must think that she would be reporting his answers back to the criminal organization.

Finn's manner had become painfully formal. "What do you want done with the first batch?"

"Send it out for distribution. I will have the enforcers accompany the shipments. We don't want any surprises."

Finn said, "That doesn't concern me. I will have my people package it up for transport."

"Thank you. You're dismissed."

Finn turned without a word and headed back to the Pit. His straight back was like a wall between them. Jenna knew she was winning no friends here, but maybe it was better that way. She didn't feel like betraying another friend to the cause.

Guilt churned in her stomach as she remembered an old friend. Rane had looked terrible at their last meeting and now she was going to add to his problems. She kept telling herself that she had no regrets. Maybe one day, her feelings might catch up with her justifications. It had seemed so clear when Blake was around, so right. There had been no irritating naggings of doubt.

_We must win, Jenna. It's the only excuse for fighting._

Now Blake was gone. All she had left of him were voices from the past. And they were not enough to still her misgivings. It made her feel even guiltier, as if she had let him down. Her life seemed to be plagued by guilt that would never go away.

She remembered herself asking that traitor and murderer, Avon, _What would you know about guilt?_

_What do I know about guilt?_ Jenna asked herself. Bitter juices churned in her stomach, reminding her. _More than I could ever forget._

**********

Jenna rolled restlessly on her bed as her uneasy mind recalled a memory from her past.

"You weren't always so cold, Jenna", said Jenna's mother as she watched her daughter packing up.

Jenna closed the catch on her case with a snap of finality and said cynically, "That was before you lost all of our money, mother. Yours _and_ mine." She had a ship waiting and she was not planning to come back.

"Jenna, please don't leave me. I'm sorry I borrowed your money without asking you."

Jenna said icily, "Steal, mother. The word is steal."

Her mother was a pitiful creature now. Not like the society woman she had once been; Alpha proud and cold as ice. She was almost whimpering, "But who will take care of me now that your father is dead? How will I live?"

"You should have thought of that before you spent all of our money." Jenna picked up the case and headed for the door of their meagre flat. She hated it here. A cheap flat in one of the most run down beta grade buildings. How far they had fallen. Any further and they'd end up in one of the gamma grids. She was not about to put up with that. Jenna was young. She had brains and skill and she intended to use them. Jenna was intent on regaining her privileged way of life, no matter what.

Her mother hung onto her arm as the door slid open. "Jenna, please don't leave."

Jenna had resolved to harden her heart to her mother. The woman had betrayed her trust repeatedly and stolen from her. She had made them both poor. Jenna didn't know why she had stayed as long as she did, knowing what kind of woman she was.

There was a pitiful plea in her mother's voice and tears welled up in her eyes. Jenna refused to be moved. She had seen far too many tears from this woman, usually when she needed money. False tears to manipulate her with, until there was nothing left.

Jenna brushed her mother's hand away from her arm and took a step past the door. She stopped and grimaced. No matter what else she was, this woman was her mother. There was still love there. Of a sort.

Jenna turned back to face her. "Don't worry, mother. I'll send money back. That's what you're concerned about, isn't it?"

Her mother said, "It's not only that. You're my daughter.

"You mean, I'm your sole means of support."

Jenna's mother said sadly, "How did it get like this between us?"

"You should know that more than anyone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and rebuild our fortune."

Her mother said regretfully, "I'm…sorry it turned out this way, Jenna."

"So am I." Jenna left.

**********

Jenna woke with a heavy heart and the lack of any sunlight streaming through the clear panes. She didn't know why her mind kept dredging up these ancient memories of her mother. But at least it was better than the last memory she had of her.

A strong stab of guilt caused Jenna to hiss. It felt as if something had pierced her heart. Her mother may have betrayed her trust and lost all of their money, but Jenna was the one responsible for her mother's death. Jenna's head dropped to her hands in sorrow and remorse.

The day she had walked out on her mother, both of their courses had been set.

Chapter Twenty

On the deck of her own fast ship, out in the darkness of space, Jenna felt she could do anything, go anywhere, and escape any Federation customs blockade. On the ground, as she was now on the planet Callisto, she was as vulnerable as any ordinary mortal was.

Jenna sat watching the entrance of a busy and crowded café as she enjoyed a cup of 'gourmet' coffee. Just an ordinary citizen resting after a day of drudgery in one of the numerous office buildings. Her contact would be arriving soon.

Jenna was gaining quite a reputation for herself these days. Almost celebrity status amongst those she would never have associated herself with in her rich Alpha days. And now she was a smuggler, but she was no common one. No, Jenna Stannis would never be common.

She had transported all sorts of cargo, from the greatest treasures - usually 'liberated' ones - to the most ridiculous. Jenna had to shake her head sometimes at the things people considered valuable. But as long as it was lucrative, she would transport it.

The only thing she would not touch was Shadow. She did have some scruples. Too many of her rich Alpha friends had succumbed to the insidious and deadly drug. At first, she had thought that her mother had. It might have been better if she had, then Jenna might have had an excuse for her behaviour.

Shadow users were desperate individuals who would do anything for the next fix. Eventually it would kill them, but they didn't care. All they lived for was the next high. They would pay anything for it, exhaust their entire life savings.

Jenna hated Shadow and anyone involved in its business, namely the Terra Nostra.

A man holding a green case came into the café. Jenna ran her fingers around the rim of her cup. First clockwise and then counter. The man waved in her direction and came over. "Jen. You wouldn't believe the traffic."

Jenna countered with the final prearranged code, "I would."

The man sat down and put his case on the ground between them.

Jenna asked in a whisper, "You're Largo?"

The alarm buzzer woke Jenna up from another dream of the past. Why was her mind doing this to her? These were the last memories she needed.

**********

Every morning the Chandaran donned muscle stimulators as they followed exercises with Corinne. With the limited time they had, it was one way to speed up their physical development. It was still no substitute for practical experience but it did help.

Marlena and her team of psychostrategists followed the women's progress and encouraged them to express themselves. Active discussions were promoted about their status as women, the training they were receiving, the challenges they were about to face, about Chandaran society and customs and about other societies and customs. The women were highly inquisitive once they realized that their curiosity and concerns were being treated as valuable.

**********

Sester was teaching an advanced class on games strategy. His specialty. He had picked a handful who showed promise and was given them some intense training. Kirsten was part of this group. He was finding her perceptive and highly intelligent. She caught him off-guard at times and said some surprising things. He realized that he had underestimated her in the beginning.

After the class, she would stay behind to ask additional questions and run through different scenarios with him. He was coming to enjoy the extracurricular time and looked forward to her challenging questions. She was a keen student and he suspected, not a stranger to game playing. His kind of game playing.

Sester was anticipating more questions from Kirsten as he sat at the edge of his desk. His students filed out to go to their next session. It felt odd being a teacher. Far too tame for someone like him.

Sester was ready with a friendly smile as Kirsten neared his desk. She nodded to him as she passed but continued on, following the rest of the women out. Sester's eyes widened in surprise and then he smiled.

**********

Avon proved to be a good teacher, once he asked Argus to leave the flight deck. The man tended to be a distraction and did not create an atmosphere conducive to learning. He went to help Reya and her combat team in the gym.

Avon was patient and strict but very clear in his lessons. The women all respected him and tried very hard. He found them all intelligent and appreciative. Their ignorance was solely due to the lack of access to education, not deficiencies in brainpower. He had always respected people with inquiring and thinking minds. And people who respected him.

His training plan was designed to build up to the level of knowledge they all required. The linked simulators he had built and had connected to Zen's battle computers were proving invaluable as a short cut. The controls were simplified to only the ones they required.

**********

Vila found a lot of his time was spent helping the games team, playing chess games with the Chandaran women. Once they learned the rules of the game, they were fine being pitted against each other but they were far too nervous when facing any of the men. There was little confidence in their own intelligence, but for some reason, the women seemed to accept Vila as one of them.

Vila set up the chess pieces as another woman sat down opposite him. He looked up with a friendly smile. It was Sentha. The woman was still antagonistic, but they suspected that it was her normal personality rather than an indication that she was seriously opposed to what they were doing. "Sit right down," he said cheerfully. There was nothing threatening in his manner. "You're my second customer of the day."

Sentha asked warily, "Customer?"

Vila grinned impishly, "Don't mind me; I'm still trying to work on my humour. Doesn't seem to be working today. Must have put on the wrong hat."

Sentha looked at the top of his bare head. She said without humour, "Well, it might if I knew what you were talking about."

Vila chuckled. "I knew I was missing something. What do you want to be? Black or white?" Sentha took the white queen. They finished setting up the pieces and began playing. Vila kept up a friendly chatter and the grim woman began to loosen up.

She glanced at him a moment before picking up her queen. "What was it like being a Delta?"

This was the first time that she had asked him a personal question. "Not that different from being a Delta on your planet."

Sentha corrected him, "We don't have a grading system on Chandar. There aren't any Deltas." She was still holding the playing piece and was rolling it between her fingers.

Vila said, "There is. But they have a different name on Chandar, they're called women. That's how I see you. You're just like me. We were born Deltas and people look down on us because they think we're not as smart as the Alphas. But they're wrong. I showed them and you can too."

Sentha said, "Being a woman is not the same as being a Delta. You may be a Delta but you're a man."

Vila said, "They lied to us, Sentha. There isn't any difference. It doesn't matter if I'm a Delta or an Alpha, or if you're a man or a woman. We're all human. I've known many Alphas who've done stupid things. And I know a lot of women who are very smart, like you."

Sentha shook her head in denial, "I'm not smart."

Vila said, "You're just not educated. That's not the same thing. Do you know what I think? I think they're afraid of giving you the same education, because if they do, then you'll know that it's all a lie. You are not inferior because you're a woman. You just seem like it because they made it look that way. It keeps them in control and that's what they're all about. They like being superior and in control. And what's better than convincing half the population that they are automatically inferior?"

Sentha looked troubled, "Do you really think they're doing it deliberately?"

Vila thought for a moment, remembering one of the briefings that the Tellaran psychostrategists had given them about Chandaran culture. "I…don't think it's deliberate. I mean, not for most of them. It's something they were taught since they were born. Just like you were. It makes them feel superior. People like feeling they're better than someone else. So the Chandaran men want to believe what you culture has taught them and they don't want to change."

"But not all of them. I've been talking to some of the others. Some of them…are bonded with their men. They're like Champion Reya and Argus. And you and Corinne."

Vila said awkwardly, "Corinne and I aren't bonded yet."

"But you plan to be, don't you?"

Vila knew he was starting to turn red. "Eventually…if she'll have me. We haven't known each other long and there's a lot she doesn't know about me yet."

Sentha asked, "You care what she thinks about you?"

"Of course."

"It's not that way on Chandar."

Vila said, "It should be."

Sentha said, "I'd…like it to be. Do you…really think I can do this?" She studied the crown of the queen that she was still holding.

Vila said with conviction, "I know you can."

**********

The four women were sharing a late night snack again as they had an informal discussion of the day's developments.

Cally was trying chocolate milk this time. "Avon reports that his group is progressing well in terms of technical ability. Argus is satisfied with their tactical progress. The psychostrategists believe they will stand up to stress but report that there isn't a natural leader in this group."

Reya said, "That's not good. This is the one group that requires a strong leader."

Cally said, "They have a suggestion."

"What's the suggestion?"

Cally said, "They want to move Kirsten over to the third group."

Reya said, "But Sester says that she's the best one in the games group."

Corinne was twirling her spoon in a bowl of strawberry ice cream. "Vila says that Sentha is quite good. She has more confidence in herself now. Self-confidence has made a big difference for many of the women."

Marlena said, "They're all becoming more comfortable interacting with the men as well. Having your crew doing some of the teaching has helped a great deal to acclimatize the women. How about Karita? She used to be a free trader with her own ship."

Reya shook her head. "We need her in the combat group. She's the best fighter we have."

Cally said, "Well, unless we can clone them…"

Reya angled her head in thought, "Maybe not clone. The psychostrategists suggested Kirsten?"

Cally replied, "Yes."

Reya said, "From everyone's reports, she is the most intelligent of the women and she has a strong character and presence."

Cally said, "That makes her suited for both the second and third groups."

"Yes…both groups," mused Reya.

Cally asked, "You're not thinking of having her take both Challenges?"

"Why not? She's specializing in chess and games strategy and the leader for the third challenge needs tactical ability and knowledge."

Marlena said, "Tactical ability is a different aspect of games strategy."

"That's what I'm thinking. As a Commander, I sharpen my tactical skills by engaging in military-type strategy games and simulations"

Cally said, "Then let's ask her."

**********

Sester leaned back in his chair and crossed his feet up on the table. He reached out, picked up the black knight from his chess set and rubbed it absently between his fingers. His eyes were deep in thought.

He had been asked to change the strategy so that the Chandaran men would be more accepting of the women, even if some of them asked to leave. The others had no appreciation of how difficult it would be to achieve it. They had a general idea, but none of them saw the threads of possibilities that he did as a psychostrategist. There were no threads. It was virtually impossible.

Sester brought the knight to his face and stared into its dark eyes. He smiled. He was no ordinary psychostrategist. If there were no threads, then you make them. Even if it means introducing more danger into the game. Of course, the others would never agree but he had a solution for that.

The buzzer of his cabin sounded. Sester had long given up guessing who it was on the other side. The door slid open revealing Kirsten.

Kirsten looked shyly at him and said, "I hope you don't mind me visiting you here."

Sester looked outside the door and saw that she was alone. "I don't mind."

"May I come in?"

"Tell me why you're here first."

"I…wanted to challenge you."

Sester tilted his head to study her. "_You_ wanted to challenge _me_?"

Kirsten said tentatively, "I…know I can't beat you, but…I wanted the experience of playing the best."

"And you think that's me?"

"You're the best at playing games." For a moment, her eyes were steady on his and then she looked away. Again he had the impression there was a deeper meaning in what she was saying.

He said to her, "Life is a game."

Kirsten asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"

"I'm a psychostrategist. Life is always a game for us."

"But it's not like that for the Tellaran psychostrategists."

"They're…abnormal." Sester grinned.

"Or you are."

At that, Sester laughed. "Are you sure you want to come in then?"

"Do _you_ think I should?"

"If it were up to me, I would. But then…I'm abnormal." There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"I think I'll risk it."

Sester stepped aside to let her in.

**********

Once they were inside, they set up the chess pieces and began playing.

After a few moves and counter moves and positioning of pieces, Sester asked, "Why did you come here tonight?" He used his rook to remove one of her pawns.

"I told you why."

"Yes…you wanted to play the best. We could have done that tomorrow instead of this late at night."

Kirsten stared at the board. Part of her mind was running through all the possible moves and moving them forward one stage at a time, trying to determine which strategy was the best. She moved another pawn. "I'm…impatient?"

This woman piqued Sester's interest. Her moves were bold but showed a great deal of depth. He countered with his own move, one designed to frustrate her efforts, but she wouldn't see it until later. "You're many things but that is not one of them."

Kirsten looked up at him. "What do you think I am then?"

This woman was playing games on many levels. The last time he felt this kind of challenge was when playing with Avon. This woman was more than just interesting; she could be dangerous if she had been given the same chances.

"I think…you're abnormal." There was a sly, nearly suggestive grin on his lips.

"They've asked me to take part in both challenges."

"I know. I was one of the ones who suggested the idea." Kirsten would be one of the keys in his new psych-strategy. The pieces were being carefully manoeuvred into place. He had to guide her very carefully.

Kirsten asked, "You have that much confidence in me?"

His voice was seductive in its sincerity. He leaned forward and said, "I do."

"I almost believe you."

"What can I do to convince you that I'm sincere?"

"Tell me that you're capable of stopping the games."

Sester's eyes narrowed. "Is that a condition?"

"I need to know that you're capable of being sincere and that this isn't just a game to you."

He could have very easily lied to her. The words were already on his lips but the way she was looking at him made him stop. This woman had been forced to live a lie all of her life. She was an intelligent woman who had to hide what she was. It had been a pleasure to see her blossom into her true self the last week. Her confidence was still a fragile thing though, full of fears and a lifetime of being pushed down. She would be affected more by the truth, than the comforting lies.

Sester said, "I could tell you that this isn't a game for me, but…we would both know that I was lying. But I'm sincere when I say that I believe that you can do this."

Kirsten said, "Thank you for telling me the truth." She stood up.

Sester got up from his seat. "The game isn't over yet."

"No. You're right. It's just beginning."

Even though he already knew, Sester had to ask, "Did you agree to take up both Challenges?"

"I will…now."

Sester realized that Kirsten had known he was the one behind the suggestion for her to take up the Challenges. It was why she had come tonight. She had needed something from him and she seemed satisfied with what she got.

Kirsten said, "I'd better leave now. Thank you for the game."

"That's what I'm here for."

"Is that all?" she asked before leaving, the question unanswered.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Twenty-One

Under the table, Largo's leg slowly and discretely nudged the green case towards Jenna, until she could feel it bump her leg. They were speaking in low voices. Just visible enough that others would know they were conversing but not loud enough for anyone to overhear them unless they were standing at the table.

Jenna asked, "That's it? Just one case?"

Largo had ordered a black coffee but had left it untouched on the table. It was obviously only meant as a prop so that the waiting staff would leave them alone. "Yes. Just the one. For now."

Jenna's paranoia scanner was blipping loudly. "It must be very valuable for the amount of money you're paying me to transport it."

"I thought that you transported everything, no questions asked?"

Jenna's coffee had grown cold, just like the feeling she was getting inside. Largo's pale face and shrewd eyes were not giving her any confidence that this was a cargo she wanted to transport. "You thought wrong. If I risk my life, I want to know what I'm risking it for."

"We are paying you this much money so that you won't ask any questions."

"In my experience, money of that kind is usually too expensive."

"What if we offer you even more money? Say…fifty percent more?" Largo asked.

The man's persistence was making Jenna very leery. "It's too expensive at any price."

Largo's eyes seemed to be measuring her and then he leaned forward and his voice became a conspiratorial whisper. "Very well. The case contains four flasks of pure concentrated Shadow."

Jenna's whispered voice was like a sliver of ice. "Shadow?"

"Yes, it's…"

She cut him off abruptly. "I know what it is." It was time to leave. "My services are no longer available." Jenna got up to leave.

"I'm disappointed in you."

"The feeling's mutual." Jenna left the café without a glance back. She had to get a better class of customer. She might be a smuggler but she would never stoop so low as to have anything to do with Shadow.

**********

Jenna woke with the memory still haunting her and a feeling of anger. She refused to have these memories; she wanted the other ones, the ones that didn't make her question herself even more.

**********

Vila looked back at the reluctant Argus. "Come on, they're expecting you." The 'they' in question were a group of Chandaran women on a break between training sessions. "It won't be that bad."

Argus was dragging his feet but he was still moving forward. He grumbled, "Maybe not for you. Remind me why I've suddenly lost my mind and agreed to do this?"

Vila grinned facetiously, "Because you're a wonderful human being?"

Argus stopped and began backing up the way he came. "I refuse to become a spectacle. I'm…going back to the flight deck."

Vila said, "But they'll be disappointed. They really wanted to see you."

"Give them a picture."

"They can't ask a picture questions."

Argus grimaced, "I doubt if asking questions was their reason for seeing me. If they want more, give them a holopic. That should have the required…depth."

Vila said, "You know, you're being very unreasonable. And you're jumping to conclusions about the women."

Vila nearly leaped when Sester stuck his head around the corner and said, "And that surprises you?"

A dark scowl clouded Argus's face at the sight of the man who was not supposed to be his enemy anymore, but still felt like one. Especially at times like this. He growled, "This is none of your business, _Sester_."

Sester grinned pleasantly. "I suppose I should be grateful that you're using my name and not something more descriptive."

The corridor was feeling much too crowded now that the psychostrategist was here. Argus said with a displeased frown, "What are you doing here?"

Sester replied nonchalantly, "This is a corridor. I am doing what people normally do in corridors, passing through."

Argus said aggressively, "Then why don't you do that."

"Oh, I plan to, after we have a talk about your unreasonableness."

Argus countered, "How about we have a talk about how annoying you are instead?"

Sester said, "Vila doesn't think I'm annoying, do you, Vila?"

Vila held up both hands in self-defence, "I'm not getting in the middle of this. I don't like the sight of blood. And in situations like this, it usually ends up being mine."

Sester grinned, "Smart man." He turned to his rival. "Well, unreasonable one?"

"_Shut up_."

Sester said, "This is deteriorating rapidly. I thought you agreed that we would work together?" His voice unexpectedly took on a quality calculated to grate on raw nerves. " Or was that a _lie_ that you wanted Reya to hear?"

Fire seemed to flare in Argus's eyes. His lips pulled back, almost like an animal that was ready to pounce and his hands clenched in ready fists. He seemed to be growing larger.

Vila put his hand on Sester's arm and asked with apprehension, "What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Sester had a grim, superior smile on his face. "I know what I'm doing, Vila. He's not going to hurt me."

Vila looked at the angry man and said, "I wouldn't be so sure about that. He might not kill you but I wouldn't place any bets on a little non-fatal maiming."

Cally, who had been inside with the waiting women, came out to find out why she was suddenly feeling some very intense emotions from the other side of the door. She took one look at the near-battle atmosphere and asked acidly, "What's going on? The women are waiting for you. We don't have time for this silly male posturing. Are you trying to destroy everything that we're trying to accomplish with the women?"

Argus's anger immediately turned to shame. He said repentantly, "I'm sorry, Cally. You're right. This isn't the right time for this."

Sester said with formal politeness, "My apologies, Cally. It was my fault."

Cally was not satisfied with their attempts at placating her. She was angry that they would be playing these kinds of games when they were supposed to be helping the women. "Yes. It was _both_ your faults. When will the two of you deal with your problems with each other and move on? Or do I have to do it for you?" She felt like a mother faced with two constantly bickering siblings. You…" She looked Argus squarely in the eyes. "…feel jealous and threatened because of what happened between Sester and Reya. You don't think that you're good enough for her even though she has repeatedly told you that you are. You're afraid because you think that Sester has the ability to make her happier than you ever could. But at the same time it makes you angry at him."

Cally turned her laser sharp attention to Sester, "And you care about Reya but you know that she will never love anyone but Argus. That hurts more than you would ever admit to anyone, even yourself because you want someone to love you the way that she loves him. That's why you keep baiting him, because you want him to hurt for having something that you don't and you want to prove that you're better than he is. You want him to lose control because then you might have a chance with Reya even though you know it's impossible."

The corridor was deathly quiet. Both men felt as if they had just been stripped naked.

Vila felt embarrassed. It was like being a voyeur to something that should be very private. He wished he could sneak away but was afraid that it would draw attention to him.

Cally was still angry. "Have I missed anything?"

Both men had lowered their eyes under her onslaught. These were truths that neither one of them had wanted to deal with.

Argus finally said in a subdued voice, "It's not that easy, Cally."

Sester lifted his head and scrutinized her face. "Even if you are right…"

Cally's eyes were like daggers of ice and her voice dared him to deny what she was saying. "If?"

Sester was a master of manipulation; he was not easily intimidated by the psychological tools that he often used on others. "This doesn't change anything."

Cally said strongly, "_Truth_ changes _everything_."

Sester smiled with practiced sarcasm, "Only if it is a truth that you can accept."

Cally had her own sarcasm to match his. "You are _supposed_ to be one of the best psychostrategists that the Federation has ever produced. I think it's time to use that skill on _yourself_."

For flicker of a moment - one so brief that Argus and Vila wondered if they had imagined it - there was a pained vulnerability in Sester's eyes and then a disturbingly chilled smile spread across his face, causing an involuntary shiver to touch Cally's spine. Sester said in a voice devoid of emotion, "In the Federation, a psychostrategist's skill is only used to do one thing, Cally."

His cold eyes held hers for a moment longer and then he turned his back on them and walked away.

Cally did not have to wonder. The barest sliver of pain that had escaped from him was something she could not deny. She had recognized this before in Avon. It was an emotional pain so sharp that it took the breath away.

Cally suddenly realized that Sester _had_ applied his skills to himself and the answers he found were ones he was refusing to accept. It was what was making him act so irrationally. He had lost his objectivity. An irrational man with a psychostrategist's tools; it made him very dangerous. She would have to pay closer attention to him.

They all stood frozen, watching Sester until he had turned the corner and was no longer visible. Argus's voice held a quiet tension, "I…didn't know it was like that for him."

Cally had not said any of this for Sester's sake; it was to help Argus. She knew that this man needed to resolve something that had been eating away at him for a long time. "That day in the cargo hold, it was Sester who recommended that you tell the women how you felt about Reya."

"He did?" Argus asked with surprise. It was something he would never have guessed of his rival in a million years. Argus was now aware of the other man's pain and it was something he could not dismiss. No matter what his agenda might have been, Sester had put aside his own feelings in order to help the women. It had cost Sester a great deal personally that day. Argus hated the implications of that pain, but Cally was right. It wasn't just Sester who had lost his objectivity.

For the first time, Argus recognized the cynical boy that Sester had been. The one who constantly ridiculed him and had given him a hard time, but also one who had risked the life he had always dreamed of in order to help a friend. "I have only been thinking of myself." His clear, honest eyes met Cally's. "Your truth does change something. For me. Thank you. I know what to do now."

Cally touched his arm. "You're a good man."

Argus looked down the empty corridor. "I don't know about that. I try to be. Sester can be too but he always had a problem with deciding what he wanted to be."

Cally shook her head wryly. "Perhaps I need truth of my own but for now, I cannot see it."

"Or you don't want to see it."

Cally said, "Perhaps. Are you ready to go inside now? The women are waiting."

Argus had nearly forgotten their purpose in being here. He sighed resignedly. "I suppose so."

Chapter Twenty-Two

Avon was concentrating on the next project dealing with the final Challenge when he felt a strong stab of anger from Cally. It struck the protective walls of his mind and pierced through, causing him to gasp and grip the side of the desk. He could tell that she wasn't trying to reach him. She was focused on something or someone else and for some reason, that anger was being projected to him. * _Cally! What's wrong? _* She didn't seem to hear him.

Avon's eyes shut tightly against the continued mental onslaught. It had changed now. Not just anger, but something even deeper. He felt as if she was reaching past his barriers to the hidden places. His walls went up higher in defence. He was panting with the effort. *_ Cally! Tell me what's wrong! _*

"Avon? Are you alright?" Avon felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see his technical team crowded around him with worried faces. Dannon, the resource from Chandar who had agreed to help out, was the one who had his hand on Avon's shoulder.

Avon said through clenched teeth, "I'm fine. It's Cally. Something's wrong. I have to go to her." He struggled to stand up and nearly fell back into his seat if Dannon hadn't put his arms around his shoulders to help.

Dannon said, "You can't go anywhere like this."

"I have to go." Avon roughly pushed away the man's hand but staggered when he tried to take a step. Dannon and one of the engineers supported him. They sat him back down on the chair.

Avon tried to reach Cally with his mind again. Even though the strong anger was no longer present, she was still not hearing him. This was troubling. She normally kept a close eye on him and would notice whenever he sent his thoughts out for her. He tried again several more times but there was no response, no indication that she heard him. "She's not answering. Something must be wrong." He got up from his seat and stood on unsteady feet. "I have to find her."

Dannon said, "Tell me where she is and_ I'll_ go help her." The engineers all volunteered to help.

Avon said, "I don't know where she is but she must be in a training session with the women."

Dannon and most of the engineers headed for the steps. "Don't worry, Avon, I'll find her."

Avon suddenly felt a wave of calm and peace flowing from Cally. It wasn't to him, but it was also affecting him. He held up a hand. "Wait." Dannon paused on his way up the steps.

Avon tried again, *_ Cally, are you all right? _*

Her comforting voice said in his head, *_ Yes, Avon. _*

Avon breathed a sigh of relief and looked around at the others, "She's fine now. We are talking."

Dannon asked, "Should we still go find her? Make sure she's fine?"

Avon said, "Give me a minute." He thought to Cally, *_ Did something happen just now? _*

Cally's was puzzled, * _Yes. How did you know? _*

* _I felt it. You were angry and you were trying to…do something. I was caught up in it. *_

Cally's mental voice was shocked, _* Avon, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was doing that. I normally keep a mental thread open between us in case you have difficulties. I must be more careful of our connection in future. I'm very sorry, Avon. _*

*_ It's fine, Cally. _* He added an amused tone in his thoughts. *_ For once, I'm the one worried about you. It makes for a nice change. _*

Cally projected her own amusement, *_ I wouldn't want you to be bored. _*

Avon thought to her, _* You will never be boring. Is the situation resolved on your end? Do you need assistance? *_

*_ Yes, everything is fine now. You don't have to worry. The problem wasn't with me. _*

He asked, *_ You would tell me if you need help? _*

*_ I promise. _*

**********

Argus's mind was still heavy with thoughts about the conversation in the corridor when he took a deep breath, steeled himself and stepped into the room of Chandaran women. Cally and Vila were on either side of him.

Escorts making sure he wouldn't bolt or support in case he fainted from embarrassment? Argus shook himself mentally. He had to stop thinking like this.

The women all stopped talking and turned curious and far too interested eyes in his direction. Cally and Vila went to the front and he reluctantly followed.

Cally said, "Argus is here to answer your questions. Feel free to ask him anything."

Argus muttered, "Maybe not _everything_."

Karita immediately stuck up an eager hand. Argus nearly groaned when he realized who his first inquirer was. It was the woman who had 'helped' him with his shirt in the cargo hold. He was anticipating that it was going to be a long session.

Vila acknowledged her. "Karita has a question."

Before the woman could say anything Argus blurted out, "I'm not feeling hot." He could already feel his face turning an embarrassing shade.

All of the women giggled.

Karita said, "You're cute."

Argus's eyes took on a panicked look. "I'm…not cute. I'm…just me."

Karita had a very amused look on her face. "We're not going to hurt you, you know. The others just wanted to ask you a few questions."

Argus said quickly, "I know that. Can we…get on with the questions?" He thought for a moment and said, "I really would like to keep my shirt on."

Karita had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Just the shirt?"

"No! I mean…" Argus placed his hands protectively in front of his body in mortification. "…everything!"

"Oh you want me to help you with…"

Cally said warningly, "Karita…don't embarrass Argus."

Karita grinned. "But he's so easy to tease."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that you should do it."

Karita sighed and said to Argus, "I don't know about the others, but one of the reasons why I like you, is because you are so easy to tease. After the arrogant bastards that I've had to bow to the last three years, you're…wonderfully refreshing. You're fun and gentle, even when you don't have to be. You have strength to do anything you want, but you would rather let us push you because you don't want to hurt us. Teasing you…has been therapeutic for me. I'm sorry if it's made you feel embarrassed."

Argus said, "You mean that it has nothing to do with my…" His voiced trailed off and he looked embarrassed again.

"I cannot tell a lie. You're a very well built man and as a woman, I wouldn't mind…giving you a try." Karita found it difficult to stop teasing him.

Argus coughed uncomfortably, "But I'm…"

"Yes, I know, you're about to be bonded. But are you saying that if you weren't…"

Argus choked on his next cough. "No! I would never…"

Cally said an annoyed, "Karita, I think your turn is over."

Karita said to Argus, "I'm sorry, I really couldn't resist. I know that you're devoted to the Champion. It makes me…very envious." There was warm friendliness in her eyes. "It's been along time since I've felt confident enough with a man to joke with him. Or to tease him unmercifully. Thank you."

Argus felt a little relieved. "You're welcome. I think..."

Cally asked, "Does anyone else have a question? Or something they'd like to say?"

The bantering between the Karita and Argus, made him less unapproachable in the eyes of the women. Argus had made no attempts at domination or force. Moreover, the idea that a woman could make a man embarrassed and feel harassed, was a novel one.

Alara raised her hand timidly, "I have something."

Vila said with an encouraging smile, "Go on. Tell him your name."

Alara put her hand down. "I'm Alara."

"Hello, Alara. I'm Argus…but…I suppose you know that. I'm…what was your question?"

Alara asked shyly, "What do you think about women?"

Argus was glad that the first question was one he could answer easily. He said confidently, "I like women."

The women continued looking at him expectantly but Argus didn't know what else to tell them. Vila moved a little closer behind him and whispered, "I think they want more of an answer."

Argus whispered back, "I know but I can't think what else to say. I mean…I like women."

Vila asked the woman, "Alara, can you explain your question? What did you want to know?"

Alara's brow knitted in thought. "Everyone has been telling us that men and women are equal. We are all people and none of us are inferior. I…want to believe it. But…it's hard sometimes. I don't feel it yet. When I see you, I see someone who is like a Champion. I want to know what you think. Do you think men and women can be equal?"

That made Argus feel uncomfortable. Alara seemed to be saying that his opinion was important because he was bigger, stronger and could fight. These were things that had never made him feel superior, in fact the opposite. He wished he had never been born like this. The old melancholy resurfaced again, like a monster rearing its ugly head from the murky depths. It had been very close to the surface since the dreams about his childhood. With all of the activity recently, he had been able to keep it submerged. Until now.

Argus said, "My opinion shouldn't matter that much. I'm a human being. Just like you are."

Cally had never been close to Argus when he was in this kind of mood. What she felt from him was surprising and revealing. There was a core of guilt and dark depression that she had never noticed before; he was a man touched by too many deaths. His pain echoed in his consciousness, in the same way that hers did. It was as deep as her own was but it was different. This was a man who hated what he was because of what was inside him and what he had done. Her pain and anguish was because she still lived while most of her people had been killed.

She touched his elbow in sympathy. "Your opinion does matter, Argus. Everyone's does."

"I…don't feel it." Argus's jaw tightened. He didn't understand why he was feeling what he was feeling now. His face was troubled.

Maybe it was because he was particularly vulnerable in a situation that made him highly uncomfortable. It could have been Cally's ability to strike past his emotional barriers and strip him bare. Or perhaps it was because of Sester's outburst earlier and the naked pain that was in the other man's eyes.

Argus didn't know what he was feeling. Everything was jumbled and confused, the different parts of him warring against each other.

There was that part of himself that was the strong, forceful leader. The man of action. A brilliant tactician. A man who was secure in his ability to defeat any enemy.

Then there was the boy who had never wanted to kill anyone. The one who was afraid of his own strength and the darkness that was buried deep within his soul.

And the man that Cally had identified. The one who was unsure about himself. The one who felt threatened by a man who had the ability to comfort Reya in her grief. The man who could make others smile without effort, or to irritate with the turn of a word.

Cally sensed Argus's turmoil and pain; and the loss of control over his emotions. She asked with concern, "Are you alright?" Unconsciously, in the same way that she normally did with Avon in this kind of circumstance, Cally projected to him a sense of calm and control as she spoke.

Argus breathed in sharply at the waves of peace that helped slow his troubled thoughts. He asked with shock, "That was you?"

Cally was surprised herself. She hadn't realized what she had done until Argus asked her. "I normally do this with Avon. I didn't know it would work with anyone else."

Argus was about to say more on the matter, when he realized with horror that the women were all crowded around him with anxious looks on their faces.

At that moment, Cally heard Avon's voice asking suddenly, *_ Cally, are you all right? _* She answered him as she kept part of her attention on what was going on. * _Yes. How did you know something had happened? _*

Avon's replied, * _I felt it. You were angry and you were trying to…do something. I was caught up in it. *_

This shocked Cally. She realized that he was talking about what had happened in the corridor earlier. Her mind focused on him. _* Avon, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was doing that. I normally keep a mental thread open between us in case you have difficulties. I must be more careful of our connection in future. I'm very sorry, Avon. _*

Cally could hear Avon say. *_ It's fine, Cally. _* She could sense his amusement, *_ For once, I'm the one worried about you. It makes for a nice change. _*

She could tell that it made him feel good that he was finally giving something to her. Cally said with amusement, *_ I wouldn't want you to be bored. _*

She refocused part of her attention back to the conversation in the room in time to hear Karita asking the mortified Argus, "Are you alright?"

Argus cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yes I'm…fine. Please…don't worry about me."

Avon's thought came to her again, _* You will never be boring. Is the situation resolved on your end? Do you need assistance? *_

*_ Yes, everything is fine now. You don't have to worry. The problem wasn't with me. _*

He asked, *_ You would tell me if you need help? _*

*_ I promise, _* she reassured him.

*_ All right, I will leave you alone. _*

Their mental communication broke off and Cally heard Alara ask timidly, "Did someone hurt you, Argus?"

Argus looked like an animal that had been chased down by hunters.

Vila remembered how Sentha had been affected by his experiences as a Delta. What happened to Argus might help these women too. But would Argus do it?

Cally projected to Argus, * _It would help the women to hear what happened to you._ *

Argus turned to her with tortured eyes. He had avoided talking about this to anyone since the dreams. Not even Reya had been able to convince him to deal with what had happened.

Cally was very aware of his strong emotions and his internal turmoil. *_ I know this is difficult for you. You don't have to do this if you don't feel up to it. _*

Argus asked, "Will it really help them?"

*_ Yes. I think it will. _*

Turning slowly to face Alara, Argus said in a quiet voice, "When I was young, the Federation…forced me to become someone I didn't want to be."

There is a special stillness that sometimes happens when a painful truth is being spoken. A respect that silences all other voices.

Sentha's normally harsh voice asked softly, "But I thought that Vila said you were an Alpha? How could they do that to you?"

"I was just a tool to them. They wanted certain things from me. They didn't care what I wanted."

Argus had a flash of memory that caused his hands to clench in anger and pain. A vision of a brightly lit room. A feeling of metal bands holding him fast to a cold table while his muscles strained to break free of his bonds. The pain and pounding in his head as sounds and images battered his mind. Jack was being destroyed. He was being replaced by someone else. Something dark…Jack cried out in anger and agony.

"No!" The boy's pain came out in the man's anguish. Argus opened vision-blinded eyes to the feeling of Cally arms around his shoulders and several of the women with their hands protectively on his arms and chest. With shock, he realized that he was on his knees and they were kneeling down to help him.

He could feel more waves of calm and peace flowing towards him from Cally. Around him, there was fear on the women's faces, but not for themselves, it was for him.

Argus was feeling very embarrassed now. He said, "I'm sorry." He tried to get up, but it was hard when everyone's hands seemed to be on him.

Karita said worriedly, "You had an attack of some kind."

"I don't…" Argus struggled to recall the memories.

Cally asked softly, "You had a memory of the past?"

"Yes…it was…" He could remember brief flashes, like faded pictures of memories. "Talking about it must have triggered it. I'm fine now."

Cally asked, "Do you want to get up?"

"Yes." The women reluctantly let go of him as Cally helped him up.

Vila raced in with a container from the medical unit and saw Argus getting up. "Are you…alright?"

Argus said, "If you call dying of embarrassment all right, then yes, I am."

Vila handed the container to Cally. "Do you still need these?"

Cally was observing Argus carefully as she took the container. "Perhaps not."

Argus said, "I'm fine. Really. Just another embarrassing episode, of which I seem to be having a lot of these days."

Sentha said, "It's not embarrassing. It's an outrage what they did to you. Someone should do something about it."

Argus turned to her, "I am. I escaped them and now I'm fighting anyone who would impose their will on someone else against their will. That is why I am here. That's why we are all here helping you. It's not right for anyone to do this to any of us. Not you, not me, not Vila. Will you help us fight?"

Sentha was absorbed in thought. "I went along with this, not because I believed in what you were doing, but because Vila believed it. And all of my life, it was my role to follow what the men told me. It was easy to go along because you wanted us to, even though you said that we could leave if we wanted to. But we are not used to making that kind of decision ourselves."

Argus asked, "Have you made a decision now?"

For the first time, Sentha exerted a will she never knew she had, "I don't know about the others but…yes I have. If it's like this everywhere, with people oppressing others…whether they're women or Deltas or just because someone wants something, it's wrong…and I don't accept it anymore. I am going to do this now, because_ I want to fight_."

Argus held out his hand to her. "Welcome to the war."

Sentha looked down at his offer. It was a gesture of one equal to another. She looked up into the man's eyes. There was strength, honesty, and still a trace of the vulnerability that he had shown earlier. Sentha shook Argus's hand solemnly and then before the poor man could pull away, she hugged him. "Thank you."

**********

After finishing with the women, Vila went to see how Sester was doing. He was worried about him. The look of cold fury on Sester's face had been disturbing. It was something Vila had never thought he was capable of.

Just as he reached the door, he heard a loud thud, as if someone had thrown something against the wall. It sounded as if it had come from Sester's cabin. _He's throwing things?_

Vila had never known the psychostrategist to lose control like this before. _Maybe something fell._

He pressed the announcing button on the door panel. There was an instant chime in the cabin.

There was a loud, "Go away! I don't want to see anyone!"

"Sester, it's Vila."

"That means you too, Vila."

Vila was prepared for some opposition. "I'm not leaving until you open the door."

There was an angry reply from inside. "Then you can stand outside because I'm not opening the door!"

Vila said, "I know you've been hurt."

"You don't know anything. Go away!"

Vila was becoming very worried now because Sester didn't sound like himself. He sounded more like an angry child. Vila was sorely tempted to open the door. He always carried at least one or two door-opening tools on him, but he decided not to.

Sester was a friend. After what had happened in the room with the women just now, he couldn't force the man. He had to try to reach him some other way. "You know that I could open this door if I wanted to, but I won't. I'm here as a friend."

There was a pause. Vila imagined Sester trying to decide whether to open the door. Sester finally asked, "Do you have a bottle with you?"

"No. But if you wait, I could go get one."

There was no response. Vila hoped that was a good sign as he rushed off to the dispensers.

The door slid open. Sester stood in the doorway as Vila disappeared down the corridor. He headed to Reya's cabin. Whether Reya was there, or Argus or both of them, he was determined to do something.

Sester crashed into Kirsten as she rounded the corner. They simultaneously held various sore body parts as they apologized to each other.

Sester asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to see you."

Sester asked sardonically, "Another game? Now's not a good time."

"I think it's the perfect time."

Sester eyed her guardedly. "For you maybe."

"Don't do something you're going to regret."

Sester's manner became frigidly cold. "You have no idea what I'm going to do."

"You're going to her, aren't you?"

Sester's face paled and then a snarl curled his lips as he suddenly stepped forward, causing her to back up against the wall. He felt as if he was sliding along a very thin edge, the edge of losing control. Sester wondered if his nemesis felt like this when the animal part of him tried to dominate his actions.

Their faces were so close that Sester could feel Kirsten's steady breath on his face. The heat of his barely-coiled anger reach out towards her and seemed to reflect back on himself. Her eyes were steady on his. For some reason, she was not afraid of him.

_I can't do this._ Sester stepped back. "I'm sorry. Don't involve yourself in something you don't understand."

Kirsten said, "I've been watching you."

Sester said scornfully, "And you think that qualifies you to understand me?"

"I know that you're making a fool of yourself. You saw them in the cargo hold. She's never going to love you."

"She does!" He took a step towards her again but didn't go closer.

Kirsten shook her head sadly. "I thought that a Federation psychostrategist makes fools of others, not himself. She may love you as a friend. She probably feels sorry for you."

"Stop it!" He took another aggressive step towards her. One more and he would have her pressed against the wall again.

Kirsten was relentless. "But she will _never_ love you the way that she loves him. You're just lying to yourself if you think she will. Even if you kill him, it won't matter. She will never be yours."

Sester took the last step. His body pressed up against hers as she was pushed against the wall. The adrenaline of anger flooded his system, making his pulse race and filling him with an energy that needed to be released. There was a chill in his voice, "What if I kill _you_ instead?"

Kirsten was not afraid. She had judged her words very carefully. "Do you want to kill me? Or do you want this?" Without warning, she kissed him.

Anger. Lust. Blazing energy. Frustrated hunger for someone he could never have. Sester crushed Kirsten in his arms and sought release in what she was offering him. His mouth seemed to devour hers. His body was overheating. Hands reached for constricting clothes.

Kirsten gasped and she caught his hands. "Not here. Back in your cabin."

Sester abruptly let her go as if her hands burnt him. There was shock in his face. "I'm sorry. I never meant to…"

"No. Don't be." Kirsten reached out to touch his face but he backed away from her.

Sester regained control of himself and his face became calculating. "You're very good."

"I don't know what you mean."

He asked sarcastically, "Don't you? You said that to me once, do you remember? I didn't understand it then, but I do now. We are both manipulators. You just manipulated me because you wanted this. I don't know how you knew it, but you knew I was vulnerable now and you used it against me."

"It wasn't like that. I…did manipulate you just now. I can't lie about that. You do interest me. You have from the first time I saw you in the cargo hold."

Sester said dryly, "_Interest_? Is that what you call it?"

"That was not why I did it. You're going to destroy yourself if you don't face the truth. It's only going to get worse and you know it. But it's become a madness for you and you can't let go. I thought…if you could release some of that madness, that pent-up energy with someone else, and if you were confronted with the truth, then you might be able to see it."

He asked scathingly, "And you thought you could use yourself? Is that what all the games have been about?"

"No. Not the games. It doesn't matter what they were now. I did this today because…I wanted to help you."

"By manipulating the manipulator? By beating the best?"

"No. Because it is what I know how to do. Manipulation is what kept me alive on Chandar. With a man like my father and the other strong males that he associated himself with, it was the only way for me to have some measure of control over my own life, even if it was limited. I became very good at it. I'm sorry if I used it on you."

Sester could see that she was being sincere. His anger began to dissipate. Some of the tension that had been bottled up inside him was also gone. He leaned forward and kissed her gently this time. There was desire there but not the urgency. Sester released her. "You won this time. Don't expect it the next time."

Kirsten asked, "What's going to happen now?"

"I'm going back to my cabin and get drunk. With Vila if he's still there. And you are going to go…somewhere else. You are right. You are all right. But it's _my_ decision."

Sester headed back to his cabin. He stopped and without turning around said, "You're very good. You might make a decent psychostrategist one of these days….but don't be like me."

Chapter Twenty-Two

Corinne stifled a yawn as she went back to the cabin she shared with Vila. It had been another exhausting day training the women and she was looking forward to spending a quiet few moments with Vila before retiring. He always had a ready joke or some funny comment. They loved making each other laugh.

Vila was not in their cabin, he was sprawled unceremoniously outside it and snoring loudly. A quick glance didn't reveal anything physically wrong with him.

"Vila." Corinne bent down to shake his shoulder. "Wake up."

Vila stirred, mumbled something incoherent and then opened his eyes. He stared blinking at her for some moments, as if he was trying to focus. Then his eyes widened and then he greeted her with a wide, happy smile. "Corinne!" He stuck out his arms and hugged her. "You're bee-yoo-ti-ful." And gave her a big sloppy kiss that managed to miss her lips and landed somewhere between her nose and her cheek.

Corinne sniffed the strong odour emanating from him and asked, "Vila, are you drunk?"

There was an exaggerated look of thought as Vila's face scrunched in concentration. Then a bright, pleased smile appeared as he remembered, "Abulsulutely!"

"Oh, Vila! Why?"

Vila tried to think again. He declared, "Sester!"

"Sester did this to you?" she asked.

"Noooo! He's….saaaad. Very….very saaaad. Needed drinks. Drinks help. Drinks are good. He…"

Corinne sighed. "I get the picture. You were trying to help him and you both got drunk?"

"Yesh!" Vila was delighted that she understood. He tried to kiss her again but his famed dexterity seemed to be missing and he kissed an eye.

"Vila! What are you doing?" Corinne asked as she gently pushed him away and put her hand over her eye.

"Kiss?" Vila looked hopefully for more.

Corinne said wryly, "Maybe not tonight. Not in that condition."

"No?" Vila looked very sad now.

"Do you think you can get up?"

"Try." After a few clumsy attempts, and much leaning on Corinne, Vila managed to stand, just barely. By the time she got him back into their cabin and onto the bed, Vila was fast asleep again.

Corinne sighed and kissed fondly him on the forehead. She made him comfortable by removing his shoes and loosening his clothes. It was wonderful of him to try to help a friend but she hoped that next time, he would realize that he didn't have to get drunk as well.

**********

Sester shocked himself awake by rolling out of bed and onto the floor. He rubbed his sore head and groaned. That was all he needed, more pain.

Bleary eyes focused and spied a bottle winking invitingly at him from the table across the room. Invitations from women and bottles of alcohol were never to be ignored. He partially crawled/staggered over and after a few missed attempts, grabbed the bottle by the neck and put it to his thirsty lips. Two gulps was all it gave him. Sester upended the bottle and shook it angrily.

Just like a bottle. And a woman. Give him a little, a taste that promised more and then…nothing. He threw the bottle across the room. He needed…more.

Kirsten wanted him; he could see it in her eyes even though she hid it well. But he didn't want her; she was not what he needed. He required something deeper. He needed… Sester picked up a handy empty bottle on the table and threw it across the room.

Sex had always been a recreational activity for him; something casual and pleasurable. A fun release for the stresses of his life. What Kirsten offered had been tempting. Angry, aggressive sex. A temporary refuge. But he found that he couldn't. It wasn't what he needed. And…he found that he didn't want to do that to Kirsten. She needed something more too and she was looking in the wrong place.

Sester laughed, an almost maniacal laugh at the ironies of life. Kirsten wanted something that he couldn't give her. And he wanted something that Reya would never give him. "We're all fools." Empty words in an empty room. He needed another drink.

Sester staggered to the door and hit the panel control. The door slid open, revealing Argus. There were startled expressions on their faces as they registered each other. Argus immediately noticed the extremely glazed look in the other man's eyes and the strong smell of alcohol. "You're drunk," he said accusingly. There was no point in talking to him tonight.

Sester was _supremely_ drunk and very angry as he suddenly tried to shove Argus back. "Get away from me!"

Argus reacted instinctively, grabbed Sester's clumsily reaching arms, turned him around and pushed him back into the cabin. Sester staggered and grabbed the table. He was seeing red and all he could feel was anger and pain. Pivoting around, he went for Argus with his fists. Not a good idea, but his alcohol and anger-addled brain couldn't think of anything else except a need to strike out.

Argus took a step to the side and Sester stumbled past him and crashed into the wall with an oomph. He whirled around again.

Argus shook his head. "I wouldn't if I were you."

Sester said angrily, "That's the problem! I'm not you!" He pulled his fist back and aimed for his opponent's face.

This time, Argus grabbed his fist and held it fast. Sester stared at it with anger and confusion as he tried to pull free. Argus slowly increased pressure on the fist until the other man grimaced in pain. This caused Sester to strike out with his other hand.

Argus took this hand too. He spun Sester around and wrapped his arms around the other man's body, holding him fast as he struggled angrily. "Let me go!"

"Not until you calm down."

"I will calm down if you let go of me!"

"I don't think so."

Sester tried to kick back against his shins but Argus had positioned himself so that the other man couldn't hurt him. Sester continued to struggle, his efforts fuelled by blind rage. Argus waited patiently while the other man expended his strength.

Sester continued trying to strike out. Anger, frustration, and helplessness. Rage at himself for a weakness that was destroying him. He fought; with his legs, his head, desperately twisting, trying to free himself from the arms that were like forged metal around his body. He wrestled until the fight was drained from him, until he was reduced to feeble jerking movements and he no longer had enough energy to even be angry. Until all he had left was the pain and the feeling that he wanted to die.

What Cally had started in the corridor was being continued, the stripping away of his defensive walls until he could no longer deny the truth. He could barely breathe from the agony of the feelings that he could not let go of. He had allowed it to become a madness that destroyed his objectivity and was consuming him. Tears began streaming down his face. "I hate you!"

"I know," said Argus with calm compassion as he continued to hold him. This was the last thing that he had expected to be doing when he came here tonight, but he could not ignore someone who was in such deep pain. Argus knew he was exceedingly lucky to have Reya. This man had nothing except his feelings.

The shame at his own weakness made Sester gather up his final reserves of energy and he tried to turn around and hit Argus again. Argus tightened his arms like metal bands around the other man's body, crushing him until he stopped. Sester's fight became a desperate attempt to continue breathing. He bowed his head in exhaustion and stopped. Argus relaxed his arms enough to let him breath easily again.

Sester's voice was a hoarse, agonized whisper. "Kill me."

Argus had wanted to resolve this situation, to get Sester to stop but he had not wanted him to give up. He said heatedly, "Is that it? Are you just going to give up?"

"There can't be two of us."

"You're an idiot!"

Sester said with familiar sarcasm, "You're very comforting."

"That's it. Insult me. That'll make you feel better," said Argus encouragingly.

"Dying will make me feel better."

"I never knew you were a coward," said Argus, trying to provoke a stronger reaction.

Sester said sarcastically, "You're right. Insulting me makes _me_ feel much better."

"I'm going to let you go now. Are you done trying to hit me?"

"Let go and find out."

Argus released him abruptly. Without the restraint of the strong arms holding him up, Sester found his legs buckling and he started falling. "I guess not."

Argus grabbed him from behind again. "You're a real pain. Do you know that?" He guided him to the bunk and almost heaved him on.

Sester leaned back against the wall, his eyes half-closed. The alcohol still coursing through his veins was making him very tired and sleepy. He was light-headed. "I don't really hate you."

"You could have fooled me."

"I might have…just a little." His words trailed off tiredly and his eyes were fully closed now.

"Are you going to sleep now?"

"Thinking about it," Sester replied sleepily.

Argus wondered if he should stay for a while or leave. The way Sester was acting, he might do something silly if left alone. He pulled a chair up beside the bunk and sat down.

Sester opened his eyes, "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Argus leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're not leaving."

"What a good observation. Now go to sleep." Argus twisted in the chair, trying to find a more comfortable position.

"Are you going to make me?"

"I could."

"How about a song?"

"Are you kidding? You're not a child. Now go to sleep." Argus got up and decided to get another chair.

"Reya will be expecting you to sing to your children."

"No, she won't. Besides, I don't have any children yet. Now, will you please go to sleep?" Argus positioned the two chairs together and sat down again. He put his legs up on the second chair.

Sester had been watching him. "Why are you doing this?"

"I have no idea." He tried a direct order, "Sleep. Now."

Sester said, "You're going to scare the children with that kind of attitude."

"For the last time, I don't have any children yet. Now go to sleep. Please."

"The 'please' is a nice touch. It makes you seem less scary."

Argus was feeling an annoyed growl develop at the base of his throat. "If you think you're going to chase me out of here by annoying me to death, it won't work. Now go to sleep before I decide to gag you and tie you up."

"You would enjoy doing that, wouldn't you?"

"You have no idea," Argus grumbled.

"I will sleep if you tell me why you're doing this."

The growl escaped from Argus's throat. "I don't want you to kill yourself."

Sester said with amusement, "You care?"

"I don't," Argus denied grouchily. "But Reya does."

Sester stared at him.

Argus scowled. "Alright, I do care. Are you satisfied? You're a pain I can do without but I don't want you dead. Can we both sleep now?"

"That's very touching."

Argus glared at him.

Sester grinned. "Alright, I'll sleep." He slid down and made himself comfortable.

Argus watched until Sester closed his eyes. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head.

Sester opened his eyes again. "I'll probably forget all of this by tomorrow. And this might just be the alcohol talking…but…I'm sorry, Jack. For everything. I never meant to fall in love with Reya and I can't seem to stop it. I've tried."

Argus grimaced. "Yes, I know. Go to sleep."

Sester sighed and closed his eyes again. The pain was a dull ache. He thought about Reya and Kirsten. Within seconds, he was fast asleep.

**********

The next morning, Argus looked down on the still sleeping Sester with irritation. It was time to wake up. He didn't want to miss his regular exercise routine with Reya. And besides, he wanted to explain why he had stayed away all night. Sester looked as if he could sleep until noon.

Argus frowned as he remembered that the man had a habit of waking up late. He stretched to work out some soreness. His neck and back were stiff and exercise was just the thing to fix it.

He let out an aggravated breath and decided to start doing his stretching and limbering-up exercises.

Sester groaned and put his hand up to his eyes to block out the glare of the dim lights. "What are you doing?"

"I'm stretching."

"Can you do it quieter?"

"Stretching doesn't make any sound."

Sester groaned again, "It does when you do it." His eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

Argus stopped stretching. "You were drunk last night."

"I…don't remember you. Just Vila. We got drunk together. Did all three of us get drunk?"

"Do I look as if I've been drinking?" Argus bent down and touched his toes, holding the position so that he could stretch his back.

Sester looked at the exercising man and the rippling muscles that his shirt could not hide. "No, you look disgustingly healthy. Did…I try to do something last night while I was drunk? Is that why you're here?"

"You tried to attack me."

"Oh." Sester looked down at his body. All of his visible parts were still there and seemed to be fairly functional, except for his aching head. "Then why am I still here?"

"I don't take drunks seriously." Argus stood up, grasped his hands behind him and stretched backwards.

Sester groaned. "Can you please stop that?"

Argus stopped. "You really don't remember anything from last night?"

Sester concentrated but that only made his head hurt more. He held his head in both hands and groaned. "Don't think remembering is a good idea right now."

"Good. Then I can go." Argus poured a glass of water from a pitcher and put them both beside the bed. "Drink a couple of glasses of this. It'll help."

"Water?" Sester eyed it dubiously.

"Yes. I have things to do." He headed for the door.

Sester picked up the glass of water and stared into its clear consistency. "Were you here all night?"

Argus turned to look at him. "Yes."

"Why?"

"You asked me that last night."

"Did you give me an answer? I don't remember."

"I gave you two."

Sester was looking at him curiously. "You're not going to tell me what they were, are you?"

"I don't like repeating myself."

Sester chuckled and immediately put his hand to his aching head. "There's something different about you."

"While you try to figure it out, I have work to do." With that, Argus left.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jenna sat in her office at the base. She liked to think of it as a rebel base masquerading as a criminal one, though she was the only one who knew that. She pored over reports on her monitor screen. The numbers were good. She was amassing a personal fortune and her growing team of enforcers could easily be transformed into an army.

This was what she had wanted for Blake, but he never had the patience. If he was here, he would already be dragging them out to fight with what they had. He was a man of action who had to be out there destroying the enemy with his own hands. Hit and run guerrilla tactics was Blake's style. He did not have the discipline to build an army or to plan for what came after the battle ended; to take advantage of what the destruction had accomplished. His temperament was not suited to that.

_Watch yourselves, Blake's rushing things. I get the feeling he's not giving himself time to think._

Her own voice came to her from the past of Star One. She had never realized until then how much that was true of everything Blake did. And in the days and months afterwards, as Blake led them on one dangerous mission after another, she found herself sounding more like Avon, trying to curb Blake's recklessness, trying to get him to think ahead. But Blake never listened to anyone except himself. And one group after another died. Good people who believed in Blake. And for what?

Jenna formed a fist with her right hand and crashed it down on the table.

_Damn you, Avon. You had the ability to help him but you abandoned him. You should have been helping him as I am now; building him the army that he needed to realize his dreams. He couldn't do it, but you could. You could have helped him plan ahead. You saw what was needed. Even at Control, you already knew. You didn't want anything to do with Blake anymore but you tried to help him see what he should do. He always needed you, Avon. He could never see it on his own. But between the two of us, we might have been able to make him see it. We could have built him what he needed. _

She hated Avon for that as much as for anything else. All Blake had left now was his legend. The noble reputation of a man who fought the good fight and refused to bow to the enemy. But also a tragic figure of a man who was finally defeated in the end by a friend. Blake deserved more than that. He should have won. He should have gone out in a blaze of glory, dying while fighting his enemies. Becoming the martyr the Federation had always feared rather than the pitiful man who had been fooled by trusting in a traitor.

_You killed him, Avon. You made his life and his fight an empty one, but I am going to give him the victory he should have had. And I am going to kill you._

She was looking for someone special to help her with her revenge. A person with a very particular skill set.

**********

Jenna moved restlessly as she slept. Dreams brought her back into the past.

She checked the flight panel of the shuttle that was going to take her and Blake away from Morphenniel. The fuel rods were fully charged. The engines sounded a bit off and would have to be refitted at some point but with everything in chaos, a small shuttle requiring maintenance would be far down on the list of anyone's priorities. Assuming they had enough credits to pay for any repairs, which they didn't.

Jenna regretted not nipping into the treasure room before they left the _Liberator_. They sorely needed the money. She was anticipating that even eating was going become very expensive. There were all manner of crooks who would take advantage of the chaos in order to jack up the prices. It was human nature; something she had very little faith in these days, if she ever did before.

Blake refused to go back to the _Liberator_. He had her tell Avon that she was fine and didn't need priority pick up. And he had left Epheron without telling Avon that he had gone or where he was going. He insisted on secrecy because he didn't want Avon to find him. He had left the ship to him and he was going to keep his promise.

Jenna avoided voicing her doubts that Avon would bother looking for them at all. Avon had always wanted the ship and its treasures. Now that he had what he wanted, he didn't need any of them. Blake was always naïve about how Avon really felt about him.

Avon's actions did confuse her. Zen had reported that he was looking for them. It almost seemed like he cared enough to make sure they were fine before he left. Maybe he was not as cold-blooded and self-serving as she thought he was. Though she doubted it.

He did seem like he cared sometimes, especially about Blake, though you could never really tell if it was for some hidden agenda. She believed that he needed Blake enough not to let him die. He might have even cared about Cally, but he was too cold to give her any kind of indication that he did, at least, not when she was conscious.

She remembered the concerned look on Avon's face and how he had rushed to Cally's side when she had been knocked out by the Avalon android. The way he had tenderly touched her cheek had surprised her. He seemed like a different person, one who was human.

Jenna shook the memory from her head. Yes, maybe he did care, just a little, enough to make sure they were all safe. She wasn't happy that Blake had given him the _Liberator_ though. The ship that by all rights should belong to her too. But at least she had Blake.

Blake entered the compartment and settled in the seat next to her. "How's the ship?"

Jenna replied, "It's not much of one but she'll get us to the next planet."

"That's all we need. Take her out, Jenna."

Jenna activated the engines and they came to life with stuttering rhythms. Jenna scowled at the sounds. She _hoped_ it would get them to the next planet. The ship rose from the platform and began rising. "Where are we going?"

"The next planet."

"That's obvious. But where after that?"

"I don't know," Blake said noncommittally.

Jenna glanced briefly at him. Blake had been uncharacteristically uncommunicative since finding her. His eyes no longer seemed to hold the intensity he once had. He seemed tired. "You really don't know or you don't want to tell me yet?"

The muscles around Blake's eyes tightened in a wince. He asked in a weary voice, "You too, Jenna?"

Jenna had a stab of guilt. "I'm sorry but I'm tired too, Blake. I chose to come with you but I don't want any more lies. No more secrecy."

Blake turned to look at her with understanding eyes. "You're angry that I gave Avon the _Liberator_?"

"Yes, I'm angry! That ship was part mine. We took it together. But it doesn't matter. You will always do whatever you want to do. It was always about you and Avon. It was never about any of us," she said bitterly.

Blake sighed and sank back in his seat. "I'm sorry you feel that way."

"It doesn't matter any more. It's just the two of us now."

Jenna set the coordinates and the shuttle moved out of the atmosphere of the planet.

Blake was staring out beyond the view screen. There was a melancholic tone in his voice. "Yes…just the two of us."

Jenna could tell that he was wishing for something else, maybe someone else. "It's not too late."

Blake turned to her. "What?"

"It's not too late to contact Avon. You can have it all back."

Blake sat back in his seat again. "No. I promised Avon."

There was a tinge of cynicism in her voice. "When has that made a difference to you?"

Blake turned to her again with searching eyes, "Why are you with me, Jenna?"

Jenna set the shuttle on autopilot and met his eyes. "Don't you know?"

Blake turned away from her again and stared at the star field. "I knew."

There was bitterness in Jenna's voice. "But you never had the time."

Blake asked, "You would begrudge me that?"

"No. It was just wishful thinking."

"Was that the only reason why you stayed with me, Jenna?"

"I had other reasons."

"Are you going to tell me?"

Jenna hesitated. She had never told anyone about her mother before, but if she was demanding truth from Blake, she had to give it as well. "It's because of my mother."

"Your mother?" Blake asked with surprise. "The one that you saw in the sphere?"

"Yes, the Federation killed her." The pain of her mother's death was never far from the surface.

"Now I understand. That's why you wanted to destroy the Federation."

"It wasn't just that." A dark shadow of guilt seemed to hang over Jenna.

Blake's voice was warm and compassionate. "Tell me."

Jenna lifted troubled eyes to his. This was the first time she had shared this with anyone. "It was my fault, Blake. She died because of me."

"Tell me what happened."

Jenna stared at the moving star field but her eyes were focused on the past. "I had a reputation even before I joined you."

Blake said, "I remember. Vila said that you were famous."

Jenna let out a snort of cynical laughter. "Too famous."

"You must have been very successful."

"I was the best smuggler in the Near Worlds. I had a fast ship and a good crew." Jenna remembered those days with fondness. "Then one day, I got word that the Federation had arrested my mother."

"They were looking for you?"

Jenna could tell that Blake was very familiar with this kind of scenario. She imagined that it had happened to him.

"They tortured her, Blake. But she didn't know anything. She didn't know where I was. She didn't know how to contact me. But they didn't care." Tears of anger and guilt welled up at the corner of her eyes. Through blurry vision she could still see the images of her mother being tormented by Federation troopers. She had not been there, but her burdened mind could imagine. "They tortured and killed her because they were looking for me. They wanted to make an example of me."

Blake put a warm, sympathetic hand on her arm. "It wasn't your fault, Jenna. It was the Federation."

"I should have known! I should have protected her!" The tears streamed down Jenna's face as she felt Blake put an arm around her shoulder in comfort.

He said, "It's alright, Jenna." His eyes were understanding and forgiving, the things she desperately needed.

Jenna said fiercely, "It wasn't alright, but I tried to make it right. That was when I started helping the rebels. I wanted to strike out against the Federation in the only way I knew how. I ran guns and other supplies for them."

"That's how you met Avalon?" asked Blake.

"Yes. But I was caught."

"Fighting against the Federation is a dangerous business."

"And then I met you on the _London_."

Blake said lightly, "And the rest is history?"

Jenna smiled briefly and then she turned serious. "Until then it was enough for me to work against the Federation. It was my revenge…my repayment for what happened to my mother. I worked with the rebels, but I never took up their cause. They didn't seem that different from anyone else. Just people with their own personal agendas. But you were different. You believed in something. You had a dream. You wanted to bring down the entire corrupt system that murdered my mother. You didn't seem to have a personal agenda."

"I'm not that different from you, Jenna. I also had my personal reasons. The Federation murdered my family and friends."

"But that wasn't the only reason."

"No. It was an important reason, but not the most important one."

"That's why I decided to follow you. You gave me a dream worth following."

Blake said, "It's all over now. Star One is gone. The Federation fleet is destroyed."

Jenna asked again, "So what do we do now?"

Blake touched her face gently, "I have time now."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Twenty-Five

Cally, Reya, Corinne and Marlena were meeting for an early morning breakfast. It was a good chance for some personal time together.

Cally's newest choice of beverage was plain hot milk. She made a face of distaste as she took the first sip.

Reya eyed her with a grin, "You should have tried it with the chocolate."

Cally took another sip and gave up. "I think you're right." She put the mug down.

Corinne lifted a spoon of chocolate ice cream spotted with wafer bits. "Ice cream is good too."

Marlena asked her daughter, "Corinne, should you be eating so much ice cream?"

Corinne said, "It's alright, mother. It has no calories or fat content. It's very healthy."

Marlena regarded the bowl curiously. "Is it?"

Cally asked dubiously, "Who told you this?"

Corinne said, "Vila."

"And you believed him?"

Corinne was mystified. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Vila is a joker."

"I know that."

Cally said, "In future, you should consult me for accurate nutritional information."

"Alright." Corinne put her spoon down and pushed the bowl away.

Cally said, "You don't have to worry about eating the ice cream."

"But didn't you just say…" Corinne looked confused.

"You're young and you're physically active. A certain amount of ice cream should not be detrimental to your health."

Reya leaned over to look at Corinne more closely. "Have you…gained weight recently?"

Corinne looked down at herself in concern. "I don't think so. Do I look like I have?"

Cally leaned over too. "It could be increased muscle mass."

Reya straightened up. "I suppose it could be."

Cally said, "A certain amount of fat is good, as long as it doesn't cause health issues. But you're a long way from that. I wouldn't worry. Continue with the ice cream."

Corinne pulled the melting ice cream towards her and eyed it warily. "I don't know now."

Reya chuckled. "It's alright, Corinne. We're just putting you on."

Cally was also grinning. "But do consult me for nutritional information in future."

Corinne said wryly as she picked up the spoon again, "I think I'm going to have a talk with Vila. Once he sobers up."

Cally asked with concern, "He's been drinking?"

"Not really. Just last night. He said Sester was very depressed and so they got drunk together."

Reya frowned and said in a not too pleased voice, "Sester."

Corinne said, "He always seems so cheerful. Something must have happened."

Reya said cynically, "Something is always happening with him."

Cally said, "It may be my fault."

Reya asked, "Did you have a run-in with him?"

Cally nodded. "You could say that. He and Argus were bickering, as they always seem to do. I'm afraid I lost my temper."

"Did you knock their heads together? I've been wanting to do that," Reya said in jest.

"I told them what I thought about their conflict with each other."

"That's…interesting." Reya looked thoughtful. "It seems to have had some effect."

Cally said, "Maybe not the best one if he's drinking to avoid the issues. It might be a good idea for you to talk to him."

Reya didn't seem too thrilled with this suggestion. "I think that would be a very bad idea. _I'm_ his problem."

Corinne said, "Isn't it always best to face the truth?"

"Not if that truth is me."

Cally sensed something odd from Reya. "Is it a bad idea for him or you?"

Reya said defensively, "For him, of course. Unless you think I have a personal reason."

Cally looked at her curiously, "_Do_ you have a personal reason?"

"Not any more than you do," said Reya.

Cally sat back from the table. "My personal reason is Avon."

"And how about the planet?"

Cally asked confused, "Which planet?"

"The prison planet where you were held. Where Sester persuaded you to tell him about Avon."

Cally's back stiffened. "Are you trying to insinuate something?"

Reya examined her defensive posture. "I'm sorry, but…I know how Sester persuades people. Especially women. He's…very seductive."

"Are you admitting something?" asked Cally.

"Only if you are," said Reya guardedly.

"And if I don't?"

Marlena excused herself from the table since this seemed to be a very private conversation between the crew mates.

Corinne was watching this interaction with fascination. It was the first time there was any tension between the three of them. She remarked, "Now I know why you call Sester a troublemaker."

The older women stared at her.

Reya grimaced, "I'm sorry, Cally. You were touching an area that is very sensitive for me. What you said does have some merit."

Cally became aware of the tightness of her back and shoulder muscles. She deliberately relaxed them. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pursued something so personal. And you're right about Sester. He is…very seductive."

Reya asked cautiously, "Did you and he…ever…"

Cally was suddenly filled with confused thoughts about a time that made her angry and ashamed. She had never discussed this with Avon. It was something too painful to talk about and filled her with guilt. In some ways, she felt partially responsible for what happened to Avon. If it hadn't been for her weakness and gullibility, Sester would never have been able to obtain information from her. "No. We never did. But…" Cally's voice trailed off as she remembered her own reaction to Sester's kind and silky voice. The warm depth of his eyes. His gentle ready humour that would lift her from the depression of her situation. She had been tempted and once they had…

"You were attracted to him?" asked Reya.

"He was charming and knew everything I needed. I should have known then that no one is that perfect. We…kissed once." Cally's jaw tightened at the memory of a moment of weakness, one that was purely primal. "But we stopped before it could go further." Cally closed her eyes in anguish guilt. "_He_ stopped."

Reya asked dubiously, "He was the one who stopped?"

"It was part of the manipulation. He was very polite after that. Very proper. It made me trust him even more."

Reya inclined her head in agreement. "He's very good at that. He can get to anyone if he really wants. You don't have to feel guilty."

Cally was angry with herself. "At least you had an excuse. You thought Argus was dead and it was a situation that was forced on you. Avon was not dead."

"But I thought you and Avon never…at least not until this past year."

"We have always been joined, from the very beginning. But Anna was always in the way for him. I like to think that I would have stopped with Sester on my own…but I'm not certain."

Reya said with regret, "I'm sorry I brought it up."

"No. It's time I dealt with it."

"You're going to speak to Avon?"

"After all of this is over."

Reya's eyes rested on the off-white surface of the table. She was the one who brought this issue up as self-defence against facing something that made her uncomfortable. Cally was confronting her own truth. Perhaps it was time to face her own. "You were right. I do have a personal reason to avoid him. I…" This was very difficult to admit. Even now she could feel the remnants of some old sensations. "…am physically attracted to him."

Cally remarked, "And he knows it?"

Reya nodded reluctantly.

"Of course he would know it. Has he…used it against you?"

Reya knew that if she told anyone about the encounters in the corridor with Sester, things would become very difficult for him. All of the progress he had made in the last few weeks would be in jeopardy. Reya believed that he was changing, she wanted to give him a chance. She didn't want to lie to Cally but this was something that was personal between her and Sester. "We are both aware that he could make it very difficult for me if he wanted to. And I prefer avoiding any potentially awkward situations."

"That's probably for the best. He will have to sort out his own mess. It's not as if he doesn't deserve it."

Reya was troubled. No matter what else was between them, she was Sester's friend. He needed help now before he destroyed himself. "Let's talk about the Chandarans."

Cally said, "I was worried about them the first week but they are progressing very quickly now."

Corinne said enthusiastically, "Some of them are very good. They're consistently throwing Vila now."

Reya said with amusement, "You've drafted Vila as a training dummy?"

Cally said, "Don't let Avon hear that. Or the other two for that matter."

Reya rolled her eyes, "Men."

Corinne said, "He's very good with the women. They don't mind throwing him at all."

Cally asked, "And how is Vila taking that?"

Corinne said, "Well, he has me giving him a massage every night…among other things."

Cally remarked, "So he doesn't mind at all."

"Not really." Corinne blushed.

Reya said, "I have Argus helping in that capacity."

Cally teased, "You mean with massage and other things?"

Reya said firmly, "Only with me. But I meant as a training…assistant."

Cally grinned. "I imagine that is working well with the women. They do seem to like him."

Reya said a disgruntled, "A bit too much. They're all afraid to hurt him."

Cally started laughing. "Oh dear."

Reya said dryly, "Very dear. I've had to ask Dannon to help out as well. How is your group?"

Cally said, "Karita is very good. She already had prior fight experience. She should be our best fighter."

Reya felt the sides of her mug. It was cold. "We should arrange for a test at the mid-way point. It will give us a feel for how far they've progressed and will give them a formal sense of accomplishment."

Cally agreed, "That's a good idea."

Corinne asked, "How is the games team?"

Reya said, "It's somewhat difficult since the field details are being kept confidential until the day of the Challenge. But Cally and I are training them on a range of skills. Argus has set up different courses on the planet for them to practice on."

Cally asked, "What about the final team?"

Reya said, "Argus and Avon are very pleased with their progress. Kirsten has proved to be very good."

Cally said, "I'm glad we included her on the third team."

"Yes, the other women listen to her naturally and she has the boldness we need for the third group."

Cally remarked, "She is a little too bold at times."

Reya said, "Yes, she is unpredictable. She will need more discipline. But in a way, that will work to our advantage. They will not expect her."

Corinne said, "Her father will be very surprised."

Cally said, "Surprised would be an understatement."

Reya added, "It's a good thing that she's asked for asylum with us."

**********

Reya hesitated outside of Sester's cabin. Part of her knew this was a mistake but she couldn't stay away. Sester needed help and she felt partially responsible. She steeled herself and pressed the control panel button.

Sester opened the door. His eyes were blood-shot and there was several day's growth on his face. He said in a voice hoarse with too much alcohol and too little sleep. "Reya."

Reya could smell that he had been drinking again. "Vila was right."

Sester said with bitter cynicism, "You mean about me being pathetic?"

Reya said disapprovingly, "Are psychostrategists supposed to feel sorry for themselves?"

Sester laughed. "We're not supposed to feel at all." He suddenly leaned towards her until his face was very close. "We're supposed to be detached. Cold. Unfeeling. Inhuman."

"You're not."

Sester stepped back. "No. I'm not. I'm a failure."

Reya entered his cabin as he took another step back. "You're not a failure. You're human."

Sester enunciated each word distinctly, "I am a puppet master. I am not supposed to be _human_."

Reya said unhappily, "I know this is because of me."

Sester stared at her. Having Reya here made his feelings more defined and less confused. She provoked strong emotions but she was also a calm, compassionate presence. He could see clearly how impossible his situation was.

Since Cally and Kirsten had forced him to see the truth, he had been doing a lot of thinking. But he didn't come to a decision until just now. Reya was here because she loved him, as a friend only. What she was and how she felt was very evident in the way she looked at him.

If he truly loved her, then he had to let her go. It didn't matter if he was miserable. He was making her feel guilty and responsible for something that wasn't her fault. It was his own foolishness that allowed this to happen.

"No. Reya. It was never your fault. It was a twist of fate. A mistake. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."

Reya's eyes swept the room and spied all the empty bottles. "Do you expect me to believe that?"

Sester followed her eyes. "It's hard to refute the evidence but…I _will_ be fine. I can't say that I will ever stop loving you, Reya. But…I'm facing the truth. I won't say it will be easy and I suspect that a few more bottles are in my future but I as you pointed out, I _am_ a psychostrategist. We pride ourselves in our mental and emotional discipline. And difficult as it is to believe, I am one of the best. So don't worry about me, Reya. Go back to him. He deserves you." He grinned wryly, "Even if he is an idiot who doesn't realize it."

**********

Sester sat in his observer craft as the computer made the necessary comm connections. His hand traced the curved edge of the console with deliberateness. He had allowed the situation to deteriorate out of control. Losing himself in alcohol was a destructive and temporary solution. It made him more vulnerable and dulled his mind, caused him to be more susceptible to the swings of emotions. It was an intolerable situation.

Cally's anger, Kirsten's perceptiveness and Reya's visit had finally woke him up. If he didn't know any better, he might have suspected a fellow psychostrategist's hand. Anything less would not have broken through his self-willed blindness.

He was a fool to have let it get this far. He had to regain his discipline, for Reya's sake and the others who needed his skills. All of these people cared and worried about him, even his rival. He was finding that these people mattered to him, even if he didn't entirely agree with their goals or perspectives. They did not see things the way he saw them.

He knew that he was far too dangerous to continue out of control. It was why the discipline for people like him was very strict, almost merciless. He had always been extremely talented and as a result very difficult to manage. There was only one way he knew, one force strong enough to stop the self-destructive spiral of someone like him.

The computer reported, "Connections establish. Communications protocol, Alpha Alpha 261-454. Priority channel."

Sester composed himself. He needed his impassive, superior professional face and his normal irreverent but pleasant manner. A sliver of cold touched his spine. This was a step that he didn't want to take, but he had no choice. He was calling on the one person who could help him regain control. The only person he feared.

"Put it on the view screen, computer."

A serious man with deeply searching eyes and a shock of grey hair greeted him. He wore all black and had the traditional black cloak. Sester felt his heart beat faster and he became very still.

The man's voice was a low smooth rumble that carried a gravity that inspired instant reverence. "Charles."

Sester bowed his head. "Master."

Chapter Twenty-Six

There was one person the Federation President always made time for, apart from Avon of course. This was the head of the Psychostrategists' Guild.

The man appearing on her screen demanded instant attention and respect. Like the other psychostrategists she had met, he carried an air of intellectual superiority and detachment and when his eyes turned in your direction, she always had the uncomfortable impression that he already knew what she was going to do or say before she was even aware of it herself. The Guildmaster was a true master puppeteer.

Servalan avoided speaking to him if possible. There were far too many secrets that she would prefer not to expose to his perceptive mind. It was very dangerous speaking to this man if you had too many things to hide. She would rather deal with his underlings but when Venner called, refusal was not an option. He was far too valuable and dangerous to be ignored.

Venner's eyes were deep and there was an air of dark mystery about him. He wore the traditional Guild colours of black with accents of white.

Servalan greeted him formally, "Guildmaster Venner."

Venner was just as formal, "Madame President."

"Is that enough of the formalities?"

"I think we've met all the requirements."

Servalan asked with deceptive charm, "To what do I owe this pleasure, Guildmaster?"

Venner's lips curled in an approximation of a smile. Servalan recognized this smile, it was very much like her errant psychostrategist's expression, except that where his was casual and friendly, Venner's was like a friendly predator. His voice was cold with warning. "When I gave you Sester, it was with the express instructions that I am the only one who plays with his life. You can use him for your goals but nothing else."

Servalan was never one to back down even to a dangerous opponent/ally. "Don't you mean for _your_ goals?"

"We both had something to gain, Servalan or I would not have agreed to lend him to you."

"You never told me why you sent your best psychostrategist to do something that would normally be beneath your attentions. Unless of course, there was something or _someone_ who was not beneath your attentions."

There was no change of expression on Venner's cold face. "Don't try to obtain information from me, Madame President. You don't have the ability."

"I was only curious."

"Or you think you can press an advantage that you don't have because I am asking you for information?"

"Would I do that, Guildmaster?" Servalan asked with feigned innocence.

Venner said with a barely amused smile. "Don't play pointless games, Servalan. It will only waste both our time. If I wanted to give you information, you would have it already."

"I thought that games are what psychostrategists are about?"

Venner nodded once. "Of course." His eyes were as hard as flint. "_Our_ games."

Servalan was not a person to bow to anyone. She was dangerous in her own right and was not to be taken lightly. "If the Empire didn't need the skills of your Guild…"

"We would all be dead?" Venner leaned with intent towards her through the blackness of space. "Like the Clone Masters?"

Servalan's heart nearly skipped a beat. Venner seemed to know far more than was healthy for her survival. She matched his cool menace. "Then we both understand each other."

"I have always understood you, Servalan. As long as we are useful to each other, we will _both_ survive."

"That sounds like a threat."

The Guildmaster smiled smoothly. "Madame President, I am going to be very disappointed if I misjudged you."

This man didn't seem to fear her at all. From anyone else, Servalan would have thought the man a fool and would teach him a lesson he would not soon forget, assuming he survived. But the Guildmaster was different. When he spoke, Servalan knew she had no choice but to believe him. His threats were never empty. With a word, he could easily arrange to remove her from power.

She knew that using the Guild had been risky. But they were the ones who had managed the impossible and returned a supposedly dead former President back to power. It had cost the entire amount she had obtained in the black gold transaction (Servalan suppressed a smile at how Avon had inadvertently helped her), 17 billion, but it had been worth every credit.

The Guildmaster was right, together the possibilities were infinite. Servalan asked, "You wish a closer alliance?"

She just wished she knew what this formidable man's final agenda was.

**********

In an effort to keep Avon up-to-date, the four men were on the flight deck discussing the results of the pre-Challenges conducted that day. Avon and the engineers were working on several projects at worktables set up along the far wall and only added the occasional comment. The trials had been very successful. The women were exceeding all of their expectations.

Argus had been glancing over at Avon occasionally and noticed Avon absently stretching a sore back. He was doing it with greater frequency. Argus said, "Avon, why don't you get away from the machines for awhile."

Avon, who had his hands inside one of the machines, straightened up and said, "I'm busy."

"You're always busy."

"You noticed." Avon bent his head over the machine and examined the circuits he had been adjusting. He picked up a long instrument, a wave shift tester.

Argus sighed. With Cally busy, she had asked him to help her keep a closer eye on Avon. But how could he do it without making his prickly genius feel that he was being managed?

Argus picked up a data pad from the table and scrolled through the mission data. "Avon, I need you to take a look at this."

Avon lifted irritated eyes and stared at him a moment, trying to determine if this was a genuine request.

Argus said, "We're almost ready to send Cally's team down."

With the tool still in his hand, Avon came over. Argus held out the data pad to him. Avon took it, sat down beside him and quickly read over the material.

Argus asked, "Well?"

Avon finished reading and handed the pad back to him. "You have enough information. I'm assuming you're going to start with Alara's residence?"

"Yes, that's what we were planning. Hers is the most suspicious and the computer activity points to wider implications. Is the uplink ready?"

Avon reached into his trousers pocket, took out an oval device half the size of his palm and put it in Argus's waiting hand. "Stick this inside the computer. Preferably somewhere not easily visible. I will take care of the rest."

Argus studied the uplink with interest. "It's small."

Vila slid over to look at the device too. "Yeah, but will it work? You're going to have to pull an ORAC without ORAC, Avon."

Argus handed the uplink to Vila. "I'm sure Avon can do it. The question is will you be able to find the right computer?"

Vila asked, "Are we sure there's going to be two of them? I wouldn't want to waste my time finding something that isn't there."

Sester was unusually quiet these days, only speaking when he needed to. He seemed to have stopped drinking and was friendly and helpful. No one knew what to make of it. Reya and Cally had even gone by his cabin to ask if he was ill. "I'm sure there will be two. The hidden one is the one we are most interested in."

Avon stood up. "If you're done, I have other things to do."

Argus said, "Uh…why don't you sit awhile…"

Avon stared down at him. "For what reason?"

Sester had a look of faint amusement on his face. "Can't you tell? He's almost wearing a sign on his forehead."

Both Argus and Avon glared at him, causing Sester to grin. This was an expression that had been missing from his face the last few days. The three men almost breathed a silent sigh of relief. A Sester who was acting strangely was a complication none of them needed.

Sester said, "_He_…" His head indicated Argus. "…is concerned about your health. He wants you to rest but he knows he can't say it because he knows you will only deny it. Not to mention he's being extremely careful so that you won't get any impression that he's manipulating or forcing you in any way. Caring about you seems to require a tremendous effort. Not to mention, he has no idea what would be restful for you."

Avon sat down. He continued staring at Sester but his head turned slightly to Argus, "He's behaving very suspiciously."

Argus said, "But he always acts suspiciously."

Avon said, "You have a point, but our suspicions are generally correct."

Sester smiled, "You would find me eating a bowl of ice cream suspicious."

Argus asked, "What flavour?"

Sester tilted his head in amusement at this question, "That's not funny."

Argus said, "But it is."

Sester said, "I'm not laughing."

Argus said dryly, "It wasn't meant to be funny...for you."

Avon looked at Argus with perplexity, "Wait. Something is...abnormal here."

Argus asked, "In what way abnormal?"

"There has been a change of cast. Or roles."

Vila looked between Argus and Sester. "You're right, Avon. _Argus_ sounds like Sester. And vice versa."

Avon mused, "Yes, abnormal. Alien possession, do you think?" He was studying Argus as if he was something under a microscanner.

Vila became thoughtful, "It doesn't always have to be alien possession."

Avon said, "With our experience? How could we not suspect it?"

Argus said, "I think it's because I'm facing the truth and…I don't know what his problem is."

Avon said with certainty, "It's definitely alien possession. I will go and get Cally." He made a move to get up.

Vila remarked, "Or maybe hit him over the head?"

Avon had a question in his eyes. "That works?"

Vila said, "We've never tried it. How do we know it won't?"

Avon said, "You have a point."

Argus was annoyed. "WHAT POINT??? You are not hitting me over the head because of an alien possession I don't have!"

Avon said to Vila, "You do it."

Vila's eyes swept Argus's large, muscular frame. It was suddenly too close to him. He hedged, "Well…maybe not."

Argus was looking at Vila. "You want to hit me?"

Avon said flatly, "Vila does. Turn around."

Argus said, "But I'm not possessed."

Vila pointed out, "Well, you would say that if you were possessed, wouldn't you?"

Argus said an annoyed, "But I would say that if I wasn't."

Vila turned to his partner in crime. "Avon, he does have a point."

Sester was highly amused that this had turned into one of their favourite activities. "It's one of THOSE arguments."

Avon handed the long wave shift tester to Vila. "Here, take this."

Vila eyed it suspiciously but received the object. "What's this?"

Avon said flatly, "I believe they call it a stick."

Vila said, "You mean you _really_ want ME to...couldn't we, think about this? Or maybe not do it?"

Avon remarked dryly, "Are you chickening out?"

Sester added helpfully, "It was your suggestion."

Vila held the dubious weapon by its end. "Avon, can I have a bigger stick?"

Avon said, "We're not trying to kill him."

Argus had a sarcastic tone, "That makes me feel _much_ better."

Vila said to Avon. "Anything smaller, might kill _me_. I have a severe allergy to being killed."

Argus said with irritation, "Can we get back to...I AM NOT POSSESSED?"

Sester was enjoying this absurd exchange. He said to Vila, "I'm sure Argus won't kill you, maybe maim a little."

Vila said, "Oh that's very funny."

Avon asked, "Are you going to use that stick or wear it?"

Argus denied the obvious, "I really am not possessed."

Avon turned to look at him. "Yes, we know."

Vila's eyes widened, "What? What do you mean, '_WE_ know'? When were you planning to tell me this? Before I hit him on the head or after he kills me?"

Avon said reasonably, "There would be no point in telling you after he kills you."

Argus said, "Vila give me that stick."

Vila said nervously, "Why? Do you want to hit Avon with it?"

Avon said with certainty, "Argus would never do that to me. He would hate himself."

Argus sighed and said, "You're right, but I might report to Cally, and ask her to check if I have signs of alien possession."

Vila grinned, "Oh...then she'd ask why you think that and you'd have to tell her why."

Argus said, "Yes, with detailed explanations."

Avon's eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't."

Sester grinned, "Oh yes he would."

Argus's eyes lost its irritation. He took the "stick" from Vila and handed it to Avon. "Now, how about some rest? Before Cally takes one to me for being a slave driver?"

Vila was trying not to smile.

Avon took the wave tester and said dryly, "Being beaten by a woman should be nothing new to you." He sat back on the couch. "Does this 'rest' come with refreshments?"

Argus tried not to sigh, "When was the last time you ate?"

"I had breakfast and several nutri-bars."

Vila said with distaste, "Those aren't food."

Avon turned impassive eyes to him, "The label disagrees with you."

Vila got up and headed for the dining hall, "I'm going to get us some real food...uh have the engineers eaten?" After confirming that they had and that they were the ones to provide the nutri-bars after Avon's steadfast denial that he was hungry, Vila went off to get some refreshments.

After Vila left, Sester said, "That was nicely done."

Avon smirked but didn't say anything.

Sester said, "Vila knew, of course."

"Of course." Avon leaned back and made himself comfortable by putting his feet up on the table.

Argus asked nervously, "What do you think he's planning?"

Avon smiled, "Are you relaxed now?"

Argus sighed. "As long as you are."

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Cally had her head propped up on one hand as she watched Avon sleeping. His chest rose and fell in a gentle regular rhythm. Just this simple action was a curiously comforting sight. It meant that no nightmares were disturbing his sleep. The lines on his face were smoothed in restful slumber, giving him a much younger look. There was no tension or guardedness that normally hardened his features, though these days it was a little less hard.

She was hesitating giving him the drugs that would wake him up. He had been exhausted the previous night, almost dropping onto the bed and was fast asleep without the aid of the sedatives. There was a great deal of responsibility on his shoulders and he tended to drive himself hard. As long as she had known him, he had been like this. It seemed to be his passion to engage in the work he loved to the exclusion of everything else. Or maybe it was because of what had been done to him since he was a child; the only way he could define himself was in his work and how useful he could be.

Cally reached out and touched his face, brushing back the hair that had fallen over his eyes. She caressed his cheek and delicately ran her thumb along the line of his jaw.

There was also another disturbing reason. It could be a residual effect of Servalan's conditioning that constrained him to continue working until someone told him to stop.

Cally had a flash of anger. She rested her hand on Avon's head protectively, as if to shield the mind that had caused so many people to treat him as a tool rather than as a human being. * _You're not a tool anymore, Avon. You never were. Even if other people tried to treat you as one. You don't have to protect yourself from us. _*

She could sense his sleeping mind rouse slightly at her projected thoughts. Cally reached behind her to the table beside the bed and took the bio-injector from the drawer. She applied it to Avon's neck, hearing the quiet hissing sound as the drugs entered his system.

Avon stirred and his eyes opened. For a brief moment, there was softness in his eyes when he saw her and then the impassive mask of the day slipped over his face. Affection was still reflected in the warmth of his voice. "Good morning."

Cally leaned forward and kissed him. Instinctively, Avon put his arms around her and returned her avid attentions.

Today was an important day. The Chandaran women were facing their first Challenge and her teams were being sent down to the planet to conduct searches while everyone was preoccupied watching the contests. This would be the only personal time she and Avon would have together today.

**********

Vila sat up on the bunk, yawned and stretched as he watched Corinne decide on her clothes for the day. She picked a light purple dress with a multi-geometric pattern and held it up to her body. Turning around, she asked, "What do you think about this one?"

Vila's eyes took on - what he hoped was - a properly fashion-conscious assessing look. He said expertly, "It matches your eyes."

Corinne turned around and looked dubiously at the reflecting surface, "It does?"

Vila got up and came around behind her and hugged her. "Everything does."

"Oh, Vila. It's hopeless asking you. You would find me beautiful if I was wearing…"

Vila smirked. "Absolutely nothing." Her body was warm against his, she felt good.

"Then should I do without the clothes?" she asked teasingly as she turned around in his arms and faced him.

"You'd better put some on. I wouldn't want anyone to get jealous." Vila grinned.

Corinne chuckled and pulled away. "Alright. Besides I wouldn't want to catch a cold." She began taking her clothes off while Vila watched appreciatively. Before she put on the dress, Corinne paused and studied her reflection in the mirror. "Vila, do you think I've gained weight?"

Vila knew this was a loaded question. "No. Why do you ask?"

"It was something Reya said." Her forehead crinkled as she continued studying her reflection.

Vila put his arms around her in support. "I don't think you have." He lightly caressed her.

Corinne took in a slow deep breath as she enjoyed the sensual motions. She leaned back against him. "Do you know what I feel like this morning?"

Vila kissed her neck lightly, causing her to draw in a light anticipatory breath. He grinned. "I can guess."

"Not that."

"No?" he asked disappointed.

"Do you think there's there any tuna flavoured ice cream?"

Vila asked in puzzled distraction, "Hmm?"

"Or maybe pickles? Is there any pickle and tuna flavoured ice cream?"

"I don't think so." Vila stopped his amorous attentions as the strange request finally filtered into his brain. "What?" His tongue was rebelling at the thought of such a strange flavour combination, not to mention his stomach.

"Oh, never mind. It's just that…I'm having strange cravings this morning. I must just be nervous about today. We should get dressed. I'd like to get some breakfast before the final briefing." She began putting on the dress.

Vila sighed with frustration. "I suppose so." He stifled a yawned and looked at her a moment longer before getting ready himself.

**********

Sester's eyes were closed as he intoned to himself. "One pain replaces another pain." He slowly drew the sharp edge of a knife along his forearm, tightening his fist as he relished the sensation. The initial sting as the metal sliced into his flesh and then throbbing pain expanding, sending impulses to his brain.

"You're a fool for hurting yourself. It makes as little sense as what you are doing to yourself now."

_One more_. In his head, Sester could hear his master's cold, detached voice reaching out through space, applying the discipline he needed. Sester opened his eyes, carefully positioned the blade along the three other parallel cuts that were dripping blood onto the cloth that he had laid on the table. He clenched his teeth as he made another slow, deliberate incision. When he was finished, he put the knife down and watched as the blood seeped from the fresh wounds and joined the spreading stain on the cloth.

_You need something to remind you, Charles. Something strong enough to break through the emotions that you've foolishly allowed to twist your mind and destroy your objectivity. One primal pain triggering another one._

Sester remembered his own response as he understood his master's intent. _Punishment and salvation._

_You haven't forgotten._

Ruthless discipline.

_How could I forget, sir? _He had replied as his blood dripped onto the flight panel.

The Guildmaster had smiled on him with affection. _It has always been for your own good, Charles. You are our best. The most gifted one in several generations. That makes you dangerous and precious._

_For the good of the Guild and for humanity. _Sester had replied with the mantra that had been drilled into him since childhood.

_It's the same thing. We are here to serve the greater good. And for that to happen, we cannot become involved with them or it would prevent us from making the hard decisions that must be made._

_Thank you for the reminder, sir,_ Sester had replied.

_I shouldn't have to remind you. To one who has been given great gifts, much more will be demanded. You may be mine, but I will not spare you if you violate the Guild rules. I will be even harder because I must. The work we do is essential to the survival of humanity. You know this. We must not compromise the Guild's responsibility._

_Yes, sir. _As the Guildmaster spoke, Sester felt like a young child again. Defiant and proud, the boy had stood before the man who had claimed him. The rules that would change his life were spelled out to him.

_Your heart has always been your weakness, Charles._

_I'm sorry, sir._

The way that the Guildmaster was able to change from cold to warmth in the blink of an eye, always unnerved Sester. There was love and compassion in his master's eyes. _Don't be, Charles. It is because of that heart that you are my favourite. It is why I trust you. It is what binds you to me. But you must control it; you cannot let it control you. The heart does not understand what is needed even though it is why we do what we do._

_The heart must be acknowledged but it must not control. _Another lesson of his childhood came to Sester's mind. He had believed this as long as he could remember; ever since he entered the Guild.

There was a question he wanted to ask but fear held the words back. He could only ask them in his mind. _Is that why you took away my friends?_

The Guildmaster sighed and said, _We have never been able to prevent you from…playing with women. We've tolerated it as a necessary minor defiance, an acceptable outlet. But I warned you never to allow yourself to be emotionally attached to one. Do you remember?_

Sester forced his fist open and spread his fingers on the table, feeling its cold surface as the memory continued. The bleeding had slowed.

_I have no excuses, sir._

His master nodded approvingly. _You have always taken responsibility for your own mistakes. You know now why I gave you that warning?_

_Yes, sir. It…has been difficult. I've allowed myself to become compromised._

_Good. You recognize the problem. I trust that you will never let it happen again?_

_You have never had to tell me twice, sir._

_Don't disappoint me, Charles._

_No, sir._

_We have some other things to discuss._

Sester nodded. _The orders you gave me before you sent me to the Federation President?_

The Guildmaster replied, _Yes_.

As they spoke, Sester was very careful to keep hidden all the things he could not afford to let his master know. He still believed in the Guild's mission but in his mind, the rules had become slightly bent.

The Guildmaster knew him better than anyone else but as his master said, he was the most talented psychostrategist in several generations. It was no idle boast. Sester knew that his master would seek his own information and would likely contact Servalan.

He also knew that Servalan would never tell Venner what he had done for Avon. This knowledge was power for her; she would never give it up. She thought it gave her a measure of control over him. At least, that was what she thought. What she didn't know was that she hadn't asked him to do anything that he wasn't already prepared to do.

Playing with the Federation President was a very dangerous and exciting game, like walking on a tightrope suspended over a consuming fire. He could feel the lick of the flames every time he made a move in their games.

Sester had no concern that she would tell the Guildmaster about Reya. There was no danger in information he had already given to Venner; no hazard in revealing something that Venner already knew was his constant weakness.

The Guildmaster had an agenda in sending him to Servalan. His master had knowingly sent him, knowing what she would ask him to do to Avon.

Sester needed what his master could do for him but he also had to find out what else the Guildmaster had known. He had to find out what Venner's deeper objective was. Bringing the Guildmaster onto the game board was the only way he could do this while he was this far from the seat of the Guild's power. The man was his mentor and master but he had always been an opponent as well.

Before the Guildmaster signed off he said, _Find a woman to play with but remember not to get involved. You need to cure yourself of this obsession. You need a physical outlet._

_Yes, sir._

The chime sounded in his cabin as the memory faded. Sester hastily slapped a healing pad on his forearm, grimacing at the pain. He cleared the table, making sure to wipe up all the blood. The chime sounded again. "Wait a moment." He shoved the bloody evidence into a drawer and pulled his sleeve down over the pad.

Sester went to open the door.

"Kirsten." He greeted the woman in his doorway before she could use the chime again.

She looked at him curiously. "Are you alright?"

"What are you doing here?" Sester asked suspiciously. Why was it that she always appeared when he least expected it and when he was most in need of diversion? He didn't know if this was irritating or interesting.

"That's a nice greeting."

Sester decided that he was going to be irritated. After the master had ordered him to find a woman to divert himself with, here was one at his door. It felt as if he was being manipulated. He did not like this feeling.

"Yes, sorry. What are you doing here?"

Kirsten ignored his annoyed attitude. "The first Challenge is today."

"Tell me something I _don't_ know."

Kirsten still had a puzzled expression on her face but she did not back down. "I was going to ask if you would come down with me to watch it. But…I think I'll just do this instead." Using the techniques she had been taught in fight training, she moved forward suddenly, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into an unexpected kiss.

She was like fire to his ice. Sester didn't know if it was pure lust or something else. Or if he was just startled into reacting but he found himself kissing her in return and reached around to pull her in tighter. Sester hissed through clenched teeth as his covered forearm brushed up against her.

Kirsten backed away in shock. "What's wrong?"

Sester took a step backwards. "It's nothing. This is a bad idea. You'd better go."

"I guess that means you're not going down with me to watch the Challenge?"

"Your guess would be correct."

Kirsten's eyes were full of speculation. "Something is different about you."

"Don't try to second-guess me, Kirsten."

"I don't need a second guess to know something has changed."

Sester frowned in annoyance.

Kirsten gave him a warm, friendly smile. "Don't worry, I'm going. I won't bother you with my presence any longer."

Sester watched as she turned and left. He wondered if her parting shot had been a promise or a threat. Or something else.

**********

Vid-broadcasters were set up everywhere, covering every angle of the first Challenge. There was eager anticipation. The air was charged with excited energy.

**********

Cally, Vila, Corinne and the rest of their team were in the teleport room, watching on a vid screen that had been set up to monitor the Challenge. They checked their Tellaran weapons and waited for the signal that they could go down.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Chandaran women were lined up nervously along one side of the Challenge field. Their large, muscular male opponents were facing them on the other side. They seemed to dwarf the women in size.

From the atmosphere and the comments being made around them by the audience and the vid-broadcasters, there seemed to be little doubt of the outcome. Except for a few people who dared to support them, there was not much respect being directed towards the women.

Two of the announcers were close enough for them to hear. A red-haired man with a wide moustache and a balding man with bitten down finger nails.

"What do you think, Chester? Do you think these women have a chance?"

"I don't think anyone has any doubts, Traz. Just look at them. They look like they'll fall over if you breathe on them too hard. (there was much laughing at this comment) No woman can beat a man. It's a fact of life."

"But what about that…Champion female."

Chester's voice dropped in a conspiratorial whisper, for show only of course, since their images and voices were being sent out on the Chandaran public networks. "I hear that she's not really a she. Someone got hold of some records that prove that he had an operation to look like that, though why anyone would want to be a woman is beyond me."

"Makes a lot of sense."

Chester said, "Once they have enough evidence, they'll uncover the deception."

"I can't wait for that."

Their voices returned to normal volume. "Speaking of waiting, I wish they'd hurry it up. A lot of people took their lunch hour to watch this." Chester smirked, "That's how long they think this thing will last."

**********

The women were increasingly nervous and upset at what they were hearing from the offensive broadcasters. Karita took an angry step towards the two men. Reya touched her arm and shook her head.

Karita said, "They're doing it deliberately."

Reya said calmly, "Yes. They are trying to shake your confidence and make you lose your composure."

"How can you be so calm? Doesn't it make you angry? Doesn't it bother you? You could flatten them if you wanted to."

Reya glanced over at the two broadcasters. Her eyes were as cold as ice. "Very easily, but I won't."

Karita saw the look and almost shivered. "You're a cool one. I wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley."

"Harness your anger to become more dangerous. Do not play into their hands and lose control."

Karita looked askance at her fellow fighters. She lowered her voice, "Aren't you afraid they'll be affected by what's being said?"

"I know they are."

"Well then…"

There was steel in Reya's voice. "That is why I want you to destroy your opponent."

Karita grinned, "Oh, I plan to."

Reya said, "Don't kill him or break any bones but I want a decisive victory."

"Don't worry about that. Those extra moves you taught me are going to be very useful."

"As I said, don't kill him but I want the confidence of the men shaken. I want them to be the ones angry. Not you. You must keep a cool head."

**********

On the flight deck, Argus, Avon and Sester were watching the broadcast on the main viewscreen. Avon was sitting at a computer that had been arranged to face the screen. He had just finished checking that his equipment and the engineers nearby were ready.

Argus sat like a rock of calm. He was a completely different man than the one who was unsure of himself with women. This was the leader that others looked to when they needed the impossible achieved. Of course, at the moment, he wasn't doing anything other than observing and waiting in case he was needed.

It was an active waiting, like a coiled spring ready to be released at any moment. He asked, "Why are they taking so long to begin?"

Sester answered, "It's psychological. You notice that each of the male opponents was picked for size?"

Avon glanced up at the screen. "Intimidation? They want to make sure they win?"

"They're taking no chances. Whoever wins this first Challenge sets the tone. If the women win it, then they will have proven that they have the right to be in this contest. If the men win, then they prove that the women have no right to be on the same field as the men. It is why this physical Challenge was picked to be the first one."

Argus asked, "You made sure it was?"

Sester replied, "Yes."

Avon said, "This is a physical Challenge. It's where the women are most vulnerable."

Sester smiled. "Yes, on the surface, it makes no sense that the women will win; if taken from the perspective of muscle and strength. It will be our psychological victory when the women win."

Avon said, "Assuming they win. The outcome is not certain."

Argus was confident. "They will."

Sester noticed movement on the screen, "They're about to begin."

They turned their attentions to the field again.

Avon peered intently at the faces in the crowd. "I don't see Alara's man."

Argus was half watching the audience and half watching the unfolding events. "I don't either."

Avon thumbed the comm button. "Cally."

Cally's voice responded over the speaker. "Yes, Avon?"

"Don't go down yet. We haven't been able to identify Alara's man."

"We haven't been able to either. We'll wait for your signal."

Everyone continued watching as President Trist and his officials came onto the field.

**********

The boisterous crowd fell silent as President Trist held up his hands for attention. His voice was projected to a dozen worlds that made up the Chandar Alliance.

Trist said solemnly, "Welcome. This is the first of three important Challenges. This isn't just a normal contest. It's a trial for the women of this planet."

At his words, there was stirring in the audience.

"As Chandarans, we have always viewed women in a certain light. We have always believed that women were lesser creatures. Not as intelligent or strong. Incapable of taking care of themselves. Dependent on us for everything."

There was many shouts of agreement. These men believed these things of women.

"But our views are being challenged."

There was a buzz of anger in the crowd. Shouts of 'How dare they?" or "That's wrong!"

Trist continued. "We have been taught that it is wrong. It's part of our culture. Our beliefs. But as a Chandaran and a Champion, I cannot deny what Champion Reya achieved and what she was willing to do for us."

The noise level was increasing.

"We are Chandarans. We recognize accomplishment. If someone proves himself on the field of battle or in a contest, we respect them. If someone acts with great honour and self-sacrifice, we do not ignore it. But the question here is what happens when that person is a female? Does it not count if it's a female who accomplishes these things? Does a female's willingness to sacrifice herself to save someone else mean less than if it were a man? Are we so ungrateful? So unfeeling?"

Trist nodded to an assistant. A large holographic image of Reya's bleeding body was projected for all to see. It was a scene from the day that she had risk her life to reveal the alien conspiracy.

Trist's voice rose, "Do we repay such honour with dishonour? What kind of men are we?"

[Back on the ship, Argus asked Sester, "You're responsible for this?"

"Some of it. I gave him guidance on what to say. And the suggestion for the visual reference."

Avon remarked, "It appears to be having an effect. The faces in the crowd have changed."]

Trist said, "Our women wish to be tested. They want to win a chance. They are willing to undergo an uneven contest in order to prove to us that they are more than what we have always believed."

[Argus asked, "That was you too?"

Sester grinned. "Not very subtle but with the Chandaran men, you can't be."]

Trist said, "Are we going to deny their achievement if they win? Can we continue seeing them the same way?"

There were whispered conversations. Several people said, "They haven't done it yet." "They can't win."

Trist said, "True. They haven't yet. But what happens when they win? How are we going to respond?" He turned and said formally, "Champion Reya."

Reya bowed in formal custom, "President Trist."

"Is your team ready?"

"Yes, they are, Mr. President."

Trist made the introductions. The leader of the men's team was a burly man in military fatigues. "This is Captain Kegan."

Kegan gave a bare nod of acknowledgement. "I plan to win."

Reya said, "I wouldn't expect anything else."

They regarded each other warily as they shook hands. Their eyes gave no quarter and their grip was firm.

President Trist said, "There will be three matches for this contest. You will each pick your best fighter for the first one. For the other two, you will choose a fighter from the opponent's team."

**********

Karita stood in the fight circle facing her opponent. Up close, the soldier looked even larger. His muscles bulged beneath a sleeveless shirt and shorts. He was larger than Argus but he was not as well proportioned, he looked top-heavy.

They bowed to each other and put their hands up in a guard position and began circling one another. The man growled under his breath, "Don't make it hard for yourself. Stay down when I hit you or I'm going to hit you again."

Karita said, "That's assuming that you can hit me."

The man said, "Woman, I'm trying to do you a favour."

"You think you are but it's a favour I can't afford. Not if I'm going to win."

The man snarled, "You asked for it." He lunged towards her and punched towards her head.

Karita was expecting this. She did a move similar to the one that Reya had performed on Argus in the cargo hold. This time, she was smooth and fast. A quick shift of her head and rotation of her body caused the man to swing harmlessly past her ear. She encouraged his forward momentum with a well-placed push while she tripped him with an extended foot. The soldier went crashing loudly to the ground. The man was stunned for a moment before he got up and faced her again.

Karita remarked, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." She smiled.

**********

Back on the ship, the men watched the broadcast in fascination.

Avon suddenly exclaimed, "There he is."

At the bottom corner of the screen, vid-cameras were panning the audience and was concentrating on a group of rich VIPs.

He hit the comm button. "Cally, we've identified Alara's man. Send your team down. Good luck."

**********

The fight was being carried on in earnest. The soldier was determined to win. His punches and kicks were meant to disable. That is, if they managed to land, which so far, they hadn't been able to.

The soldier punched again, this time Karita was just a bit slow and his fist hit her a glancing blow on the cheek. That was all it took. Karita staggered back as a red mark appeared on her face. She seemed to trip on her own feet and fell, rotating as she went so that she was facing the ground.

The soldier smelled victory and immediately pressed his advantage by going after her, intending on pinning her to the ground. Karita heard the soldier approaching from behind her. Without trying to turn or to get up from the ground, she suddenly kicked out hard behind her, catching the soldier in the mid-section and then quickly rolling away while the soldier collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.

Karita popped up and stood waiting for the man to recover.

The soldier was angry as he got up. He did not like being humiliated.

Karita was paying attention to the beats and the rhythm of the fight. Everyone has a fight rhythm. You can see it in their combinations and the way they move as they circle their opponent. To win, you had to break the rhythm. Strike them between their strikes. Strike them before they prepare for the next combination of strikes. That was what she had been taught in the cargo hold.

Karita saw the soldier's leg rise. She immediately stepped forward inside the kick, placed both hands against the man's chest and pushed hard as he lost his balance. The soldier went flying backwards and hit the ground half a circle away with a grunt of pain and shock.

Again, she waited for the man to get up. So far, she had not hit her opponent. All of her moves were defensive reactions. Karita glanced at Reya. Reya nodded her head.

It was time to go on the offensive. A big smile spread across Karita's face.

**********

Cally and Corinne, both in male disguises, kept watch as Vila worked on the security lock at the side entrance to Alara's residence. The streets were almost empty. People were watching the Challenge on a large public screen or in their homes.

It was a tricky lock with two security measures. A motion sensor that Vila had already disabled and one that would give a nasty shock. He was working carefully on this one using a non-conductive tool. A smile of accomplishment brightened his face as the last energy connection was bypassed. "There you are."

Cally asked, "Is the lock open?"

"Not yet but that's easy compared to the security. Give me thirty seconds." In twenty-five seconds, the lock released with an audible click. "Now for my next trick…" Vila presented with a flourish.

Cally said, "Quick, inside."

They turned their hand torches on low and entered quietly.

**********

In the arena, the soldier was still falling but Karita was now adding strikes to specific points of his body. They didn't seem effective as the soldier barely reacted to each hit. But for some reason, the soldier was starting to make mistakes, or his arms and legs were having problems coordinating.

Karita looked over to Reya. Reya nodded her head again. It was time to finish it.

Karita gathered her strength and for the first time aimed a straight punch, past the slow guard of the startled soldier. Her fist him in the abdomen. The man doubled over as the wind was knocked out of him. Karita pivoted and struck him at the base of the skull. The soldier went down like an inanimate object.

Karita put her knee on the soldier's back and grabbed one of his arms, applying an arm lock. There was no need, the man was unconscious.

There was stunned silence.

Karita turned her head to the referees at the edges of the circle. There were whispered discussions but the soldier didn't look like he was about to wake up. One of them reluctantly entered the circle and raised his arm. He said in a loud, reluctant voice, "The winner of the first match is, Karita of the women's team."

With that announcement, everyone began talking at once.

**********

Cally, Vila and Corinne were searching through the residence, looking for the hidden computer that Sester was certain would be there. They had to be careful. Some of the household staff was still in the building but they were all gathered around the large vid screen in the living room.

Vila disabled the catch on a desk drawer as he said, "If I was a hidden computer, where would I be?"

Corinne examined a cupboard and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to imagine myself as the villain. They do it in all the detective vid-dramas."

"Is it helping?"

"Not yet. Cally there isn't anything here." Vila shut the drawer.

Cally was watching the door and keeping her senses open to the people in the building. She said, "We'll have to try the next floor."

**********

Sester smiled to himself as Captain Kegan, the leader of the men's team picked the woman for the next match.

Argus asked, "What's so funny?"

Sester said, "They're like you. Very predictable." He grinned as Argus scowled at him.

"Do you have to be so annoying?" asked Argus.

Avon said dryly, "Yes, he does. In that he is very predictable."

Sester chuckled. "We split the first team of women into three groupings. Each one was taught a different technique so that the men would not be able to adjust their styles. Each style taught was one that the Chandarans have no experience with. They follow very different fight philosophies. Right now, the men expect another woman to use a technique that redirects strength and are planning against it."

Avon said, "There is a flaw in that reasoning."

Argus thought for a bit. "That only works if we can control who gets picked by the other team. But we can't, not with the last two. It'll just be random, depending on the whims of their team leader."

Sester had the air of a supremely confident psychostrategist. "That's where I come in."

Avon was keeping a close eye on the progress of Cally's team. "You don't believe in the randomness of human actions."

"It only seems random if you don't understand how human beings work."

Avon said, "And you understand them."

"It's what I do."

Avon stared at Sester. The ability to understand irrational human beings was one he envied. "That remains to be seen."

Sester grinned. "You have a predictable lack of faith in others, Avon."

Avon stressed, "Some others."

"Regardless of the person, there will always be some points of predictability. Part of what I do is identify the sources of predictability and determine how they will impact a person's decisions and behaviour."

The second woman walked out onto the field to face the next man.

Avon asked, "Are you saying that you knew who they would pick?"

Sester replied, "I knew before we split the women up into the style groupings."

Argus said with astonishment, "But that was three weeks ago."

"As I said, this is what I do."

Avon eyed him speculatively. "How?"

"You wouldn't understand the technical details but it involved studying the women. How they carried themselves, their physical impact, the look in their eyes, a host of different factors. Then projecting the changes after three weeks of training and putting that information together with my understanding of the Chandaran men. It's a fairly pedestrian task for someone of my level of expertise."

Avon asked, "There is a degree of error."

"Of course. With human beings, there is always a degree of error, depending on the completeness of my information. But it's minimal in this case."

Argus asked, "How do you know that?"

"The degree of error increases with the level of intelligence, flexibility and creativity."

Argus looked straight at him. "You're telling us that _you_ are unpredictable?"

Avon and Sester stared at him.

Avon finally said, "You're not so obvious after all."

**********

The next woman had a style that confounded her opponent and caused laughter among the audience. She seemed to be dancing, more than fighting. Moving in graceful arcs and spins around her opponent. Darting into and out of range with dizzying speed. The laughter stopped when she began hitting with greater frequency, landing blows on sensitive areas.

**********

Vila ran his fingers along the wall in the bedroom of the Alara's residence. "Cally, we're running out of rooms."

Cally was watching by the door and trying to search areas near the door, "I know."

"Do you think Sester might have been wrong about the second computer? We've already put one of Avon's gadgets on the other one."

Corinne said, "We haven't found anything suspicious."

Cally pursed her lips. "Avon says there's nothing irregular on the other computer. Keep looking."

Vila checked another wall. "Hold on. What's this?"

Corinne came over, "What did you find?"

Vila knelt down and touched the floor. "There's more wear and tear here. I think…this wall comes out. That means…" Vila drew his sensitive fingers along the wall, searching for minute indentations. "Corinne, see if there's something on that desk. A switch of some kind."

**********

The dancing/fighting woman made a mistake and her opponent rained a powerful combination on her head and body. Even though she rolled with the punches as she had been taught, she was stunned for a few moments. The man hit her again and she went down.

The matches were tied at one apiece.

**********

Vila grinned as a hidden compartment slid away from the wall, revealing the elusive computer. "That's genius."

Corinne rewarded him with a hug. "You're wonderful."

Cally whispered from the doorway. "Plant the device. You can do that later."

Corrine let go of Vila with embarrassment. "Sorry."

Vila removed a side panel from the computer and studied the inner workings. He said absently, "Tuna."

Corinne thought she had heard wrong. "You see tuna?"

Vila glanced up at her and then back down to what he was doing. "I just realized. Why tuna ice cream?"

Cally asked, "Are you done yet?"

Vila said, "Almost. Just finding a good place for Avon's gadget."

"Well, hurry up."

Vila lifted a group of wires and looked underneath. "I am. I am. I just…wanted to know why someone would ask for tuna and pickle ice cream."

Cally crinkled her nose in disgust. "Tuna and pickle Ice cream? Who would want that?"

Vila slipped the oval device under the wires and covered it up.

Corinne said with embarrassment, "I said that. This morning."

Cally's eyes widened and she stared at her. Her eyes slid down to Corinne's abdomen. "Corinne, when we asked you about gaining weight…we were kidding."

Corinne said, "I know."

Vila slid the covering back in place and said, "It's done. Tell Avon."

Cally pressed her teleport bracelet. "Avon, the device has been planted."

There was a pause before the reply came. "Message received, Cally. Good work. The signal is strong. Stand by for further instructions."

Cally continued their discussion. "Corinne, is there a reason why you're having cravings?"

Vila asked, "Cravings? What cravings?"

Cally said, "Women in a…certain condition are known to have odd food preferences."

"Oh." Vila said and then his eyes became very wide. "Ohhhh! Corinne! That's…not…possible."

Cally said dryly, "I assume that the two of you have been…"

Vila cut in before she could elaborate further, "No! I mean…yes we have but…I have to sit down." He was feeling faint. Corinne helpfully pulled up a chair and Vila almost collapsed into it. "I went to your medicine cabinet and found some pills. I thought they were the right ones."

Cally asked, "And which ones did you think they were?"

"Well, you know…pills that…"

Corinne said, "You should have seen him run. I didn't know he could move so fast."

Vila was pale. "They must have been the wrong ones."

Corinne asked, "Would it be so bad having children?"

Vila looked up at her and took her hand. "It's not that. I would love having kids with you. It's just that…it's so sudden. I wasn't prepared. We haven't even had time to talk about it."

Corinne kissed him on the head. "It's alright. They were the right pills."

"Huh?" Vila was mystified. "But…you have cravings…and…"

Corinne said reassuringly, "I don't really."

"I…what? You don't have…cravings? Then what about the tuna ice cream?"

Corinne sighed. "I was just kidding you but it didn't work. You didn't know what I was talking about this morning. And then when you asked me just now…I was surprised. I'm sorry. I suppose I'm not very good at these kinds of jokes yet."

Cally said with understanding. "The _ice cream_."

Vila laughed quietly. "You did fine, Corinne. No one's been able to play that kind of practical joke on me in a long time. I'm going to have to be careful around you."

Corinne said, "You weren't expecting it."

"That's the best kind."

Cally's teleport bracelet chimed softly. "Yes, Avon?"

Avon's voice was urgent. "I'm going to send you directly to the Challenge hall."

Cally asked with immediate concern, "What's wrong?"

Chapter Twenty-Nine

As they watched the second match, Avon wondered what was taking Cally's team so long to find the second computer. She had reported that some of the staff was still in the building. Even if they were preoccupied watching the Challenge, it was still risky. They couldn't afford to be discovered.

Even though Avon did not trust in instinct, not even his own, he had the distinct impression that Alara's man was not only an alien, he was going to be a very useful one. If that was the case, Cally's team had to plant the interceptor device and get away undetected. It was the only way they would be able to track the alien's activities.

Cally had insisted that they use the teleport comm rather than their normal mental communications. She knew that it tired him to expend the energy required to do it when he was already busy at multiple tasks. Avon grimaced slightly in annoyance. He couldn't wait until he could return to the Tellar Union and they would be able to complete the medical treatments.

At least his heart was back to full function. The incidents of collapse due to overstress had decreased considerably. Cally was right. He should have done this a long time ago.

Jack and Charles were bickering again but it ended quickly. Avon shook himself mentally and bent his head to suppress a smile. Argus and Sester. Even though he still only had vague memories of the times at the Academy, he _remembered_ the boys.

Many things had changed for all of them. They were no longer the children they were originally, but in some ways, things had never changed, including the rivalry between the two men. Avon suspected that even without the issue of the Commander between them, they would still be at it.

Something had changed recently. Even he had noticed the subtle shift in attitudes between the two men. Avon wasn't quite sure what the changes were or why it had occurred but he was determined to find out.

Avon checked the first connected computer again in case he missed something. The interceptor device was working perfectly but this computer wasn't the one he was interested in. There was nothing in its data banks or usage logs other than inane activities. The man seemed to be a businessperson dealing in guided munitions. His recreational activities were eclectic and delved into areas that might be best described as vulgar. Not his taste but Avon rarely commented on other people's amusements. The interesting point of note was that these activities had tailed off considerably over the course of the past half year. An indicative but circumstantial piece of evidence. What they required was real proof.

Argus remarked, "The second match is going well." The woman on the challenge field was dancing around her opponent, staying just out of reach.

Sester brought a tray of drinks over to Argus. "The men appear appropriately confused."

Argus chose a cup of water. "I know _I_ was the first time I saw this style. I thought it was a joke."

Sester went over to Avon next. He had to nudge the man to get his attention. "And what happened after Reya rendered you unconscious?"

Argus glared at him in annoyance. "It wasn't Reya that showed me this style. I was the one who taught it to her."

Sester's eyebrows rose in an exaggerated expression. "You dance?"

Argus said, "It's not dancing. It's…."

Sester said, "Fighting gracefully?"

"Yes." Argus took a few mouthfuls of water and set the cup down.

After Avon and the engineers took theirs, Sester picked up the last one and sat back down on the couches. "It just looks like dancing." There was an almost-smirk on his lips.

Argus scowled but ignored the bait. He said, "I hope you're not going to say that if it looks like dancing then it is. The intent is different. I do not 'dance' for recreational purposes."

Sester grinned.

Argus ignored him and turned his full attention back to the screen and waiting until he was needed. He hated the waiting part of missions, though he never showed it. He could do it without any problems. It was just a necessary part of his job that he didn't like.

Once he had stayed almost completely stationary for three days in order to defeat the motion-sensors before his target arrived. He had moved forward a millimetre at a time, just within the tolerance of the security grid, until he was in position and only needed to squeeze the trigger. No one had thought it possible.

He had waited, awake and alert the entire time. Sleep was something that he could not afford. It was impossible to control the motion of his body while he was asleep.

His target had been a particularly vile man who trafficked in human slaves for sport. The man had foolishly thought that he could defy the Federation by poaching from several of the Middle Colonies. It had been his death sentence. Unlike some of the other things he was ordered to do in the Federation military, Argus hadn't minded killing this man.

He wretched his thoughts from the past and relaxed the fist the he hadn't realized that he had tightened. Memories of those times were always a source of tension, uncomfortable reminders of the life he had led.

Sester was watching him curiously but didn't say anything. Argus noticed that there was something different about this irritating man lately. The man seemed to be slightly less abrasive. It could be his imagination or it might have been because of the tongue-lashing Cally had given them several days ago. It was hard to tell.

Argus had been changed by it. He still didn't think that he was worthy of Reya but it was no longer important. She loved him. That was all that mattered.

On the screen, the woman was still fighting and holding her own. When she made a mistake, Argus immediately knew it and could see that her male opponent moving to take advantage of it. "Damn."

The woman was stunned by the blow to the head and couldn't seem to focus her eyes. The man hit her again and she fell. Argus grimaced and wished he could be down there to help her. And to give the man a beating he wouldn't soon forget. "That's it. We lost this one."

Avon asked Sester, "Did your strategy factor in the need to win this Challenge?"

Sester said, "It did."

Cally's voice came over the flight deck comm. "Avon, the device has been planted."

Avon immediately checked the receiver device by his table as the lights blinked, registering the incoming signals. He turned to his computer and began entering commands. Streams of data flashed across his screen.

He pressed the comm. "Message received, Cally. Good work. The signal is strong. Stand by for further instructions."

Argus asked, "How does it look?"

Avon replied distractedly, "It's encrypted." He nodded to one of the engineers who turned on another device.

Avon worked quickly as the data stream began taking shape. "The decoder is working. We should have…" The screen decoded to show a diagram. Avon began rotating the image. "This is a detailed floor plan of the Challenge hall."

Argus rushed over to take a look. "That's not good. It must mean they're planning something. Can you tell what?"

Avon brought more of the data onto the screen. "The decoder is still working. It'll take time." He directed the engineer to adjust the decoder and boost the feed.

Argus was thinking. "Time we don't have."

Avon said, "We can't tell from the diagram. There are no markings." His mind was working even faster as he studied the encryption. "I can try adding a new algorithm. It will speed up the decoding." He began inputting the new code.

Argus asked, "Do you think they'll try to sabotage the Challenge?"

Sester had come over and was also looking over Avon's shoulder. "It's a possibility but there are other stronger ones."

Argus said, "Such as assassinating the President?"

Sester nodded. "Yes."

Argus said, "We're going to have to assume both. Avon is there a way to bring down the energy barrier over the hall?"

Avon looked up at him. "I can but we don't have the time."

"Damn. I knew you were going to say that. All right. Send Cally's team over to the Challenge hall. Or at least as close as we can get them. Tell her to inform Reya. We need them to protect Trist. I'll go down with two of the Athol teams and make sure no one disrupts the Challenge. You have the flight deck, Avon. Coordinate from up here. Keep trying to break the encryption. We need more information. And…see if you can bring down that energy barrier. If you have the time." Argus rushed out.

Sester looked after him. "He's very authoritative when he has to be, isn't he?"

"Were there ever any doubts?" Avon contacted Cally.

**********

There was a brief intermission between the second and third fight. Reya was speaking to the gathered women. "You've done very well. I'm very proud of you."

The bruised and slightly concussed woman of the second match was receiving medical assistance. She said dispiritedly, "But I lost."

Reya said warmly, "But not by much. You acquitted yourself well. Even though you lost technically, we still won psychologically. That is just as important. But…we need more than just a psychological victory with the last match."

Karita said with a grin, "You like to win."

Reya said, "Let's just say that I have never lost and I wouldn't want to start now."

The person for the last match had already been chosen. Alara said, "I won't let you down, Reya. I plan to win." The timid, fearful woman was nervous but there was an underlying resolve in her voice.

Reya looked at the woman. Alara had come a long way. This was true bravery, the willingness to act despite the trepidation she saw in Alara's eyes. It wasn't a fear that froze the feet from moving forward, it was one that had caused her to show what she was made of.

Reya said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Alara also had the disturbing habit of hugging people without warning. She did so now, putting her arms around Reya in gratitude. "Thank you."

Reya looked embarrassed for a moment and then returned her embrace warmly. "You did it yourself, Alara. All of you did. We may have provided the training and direction but the strength and courage was your own. You did all the work yourselves. In my eyes, you all deserve to be Champions. Let's make all of Chandar see it."

As Alara let go of her, Reya spotted Cally approaching. Reya's senses were instantly on alert as she noted the anxiety and vigilance in Cally's eyes. "We have another ten minutes." The other women gathered around to give Alara encouragement as Reya moved towards the Auron. "What's wrong?"

**********

Vila and Corinne had split up when they entered the Challenge hall. They positioned themselves on either side of President Trist's observation box while Cally went to inform Reya what was going on. Vila's sharp eyes observed the audience, trying to spot anyone up to no good.

There were not supposed to be any weapons in the Hall. He had passed through a scanner before he was allowed to enter but he knew it didn't mean there weren't any. You could find a way around anything if you really wanted to. He should know, he had spent most of his life finding ways around things that he technically wasn't supposed to.

Most of his (hidden) tools had been discovered by the scanners and he had to give them up to the unsmiling guards. No amount of persuasion could convince them that they were for his health. People had no sense of humour.

Vila sighed and continued scanning the audience. What was he supposed to do if he saw something suspicious? What if he saw someone pointing a weapon? He couldn't shoot the man with weapons that were now packed away in some nameless guard's box of confiscated objects.

Vila had really wanted to try out his new, non-lethal Tellaran pistol. He always had a problem shooting real ones; he was very interested in finding out if he would have the same trouble firing the stun weapons.

That still left him with the problem of…what was he going to do…

**********

Argus and the two Athol soldier teams teleported down shortly after Vila, Cally and Corinne had been transferred over. Some of the soldiers held phase oscillator units, like the ones that had been used to detect the disruption beams that had been used to Reya during her fight. Avon had increased the capability of the units to scan for a wider range of wave signatures.

"Alright, Dain spread out and keep it discreet. The oscillator units are not foolproof so keep your eyes sharp. Search all rooms overlooking the hall. I will take my team and search inside the hall. Alright, let's go."

**********

Alara faced her opponent. She was nervous but she was determined to not let anyone down, not even herself. They bowed to each other and put their hands up in guard position.

Alara was watching carefully, not to strike, but for the first move from her opponent. She would not act until then. He would be the architect of his own doom. It was something Reya had told them when she taught them this style. He is safe as long as he doesn't attack you. But if he does…he will never be safe again. Alara liked Reya.

The brawny soldier was wary at first. He had no idea what she was going to do. It didn't take long though, Chandaran males only seemed to know one fight philosophy, attack.

He aimed a combination punch towards her. Alara took a step backwards, just enough to put her beyond the distance he was aiming for. The soldier following her movements and prepared to rain another set of blows as he continued moving forward. This time, Alara leaned back slightly and turned her body to allow his attack to go past her. Then she positioned her feet and spun around. Now she was to the side and slightly behind him.

Alara had been so fast that the soldier's momentum was continuing to carrying him forward. His back and some very sensitive areas were now vulnerable to any blow from her. Instead of striking, she put a light hand on his back, just below the mid-spine and with the other hand, she gripped his wrist.

She held him without any force as he stopped his forward motion and turned to face her. Alara applied pressure at a specific spot along his spine and at the same time twisted the man's wrist to keep his arm bent and his body facing forward. Her opponent jerked and arched as pain stabbed his back.

Alara whispered a soft warning, "Don't move. I don't want to hurt you."

Of course, that spurred the soldier to try to turn around to face her again. He did not like feeling vulnerable or having anyone stand behind him.

Alara quickly traced her fingers up and pressed another point along his vertebrae. The soldier grunted in pain and arched again. Her voice was gentle. "Do you want to turn around?"

The man snarled and struggled to turn again. This time, Alara removed her hand from the soldier's back and traced her way to his elbow. The soldier was able to turn relatively facing her. He looked down in anger and confusion to her hands holding him. Pulling his arm, he tried to free himself from her grip and punch her in the side of the head with the other hand. He soon found that punching was useless as she was standing so that he couldn't reach her. Pulling to free himself was no use because she offered no resistance. All she did was follow his force and push his elbow so that he ended up with his arm trapped against his chest. Next, he tried to forcefully backhand her with the trapped hand. Again, she offered no resistance and only followed his force, stepping backwards while pulling his elbow and maintaining it at continued forty-five degree angle. He lost his balance and staggered forward.

Alara asked in her soft voice, "What else would you like to do next?"

The man glared at her.

**********

Cally had her senses open up to the room. The sensation had been overwhelming until she put some of her walls back up. She was keeping close visual contact on the VIP booth where Alara's man sat with others. There was definite negative attention in the President's direction, but nothing urgent. They didn't seem to be concerned or ready to move.

She projected to Vila and Corinne, *_ Do you see anything? _*

Vila and Corinne shook their heads.

*_ Stay sharp. They are planning something but…not yet. I will let you know if there is any movement. _* They both nodded from their sides of the room.

**********

Avon hit the entry panel in frustration. The decoder was working faster with the new algorithms but other than some interesting information that they needed for later use, there was nothing about the plans for the Challenge hall.

He looked up at the vid-screen. Alara was doing very well. She had her opponent fully controlled without striking a single blow. He appreciated the scientific precision of this style.

Now if only he could gain some success with the encryption. Avon concentrated on the screen again. What did this diagram tell him? There had to be something there.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Thirty

Alara's male opponent was extremely frustrated. He tried punching, kicking, even a head butt but nothing landed where it was supposed. Trying to free himself from her grip was next to impossible. Every movement was redirected by the barest touch of her hand on various parts of his body. He felt like a helpless puppet, his face was red with rage at the humiliation of being controlled by a woman. The soldier fought desperately to regain control, to establish the dominance that was his right. This woman did not have the right to do this to him.

Despite his training and physical conditioning, he was tiring. He was expending most while the woman barely exerted any. She seemed to know how to position him so that he would be fighting his own considerable weight just to keep upright. He had always been proud of how fit and muscular he was. It was an ideal for a Chandaran male but the woman had somehow made it a disadvantage.

If she had been a man, he might have admired her skill but all he felt was anger and disgrace at being beaten by a wofman. His life in the military would be over. He had let his people down. Few options were open for a Chandaran who had committed such a great failure; a loss of respect. There would be no sympathy for him.

**********

Reya had been watching Alara's opponent carefully, noting the expression on his face, the emotions in his eyes, and the way he fought. She could read each layer and change of emotion as if they were a computer file. In a way, it was the right description.

Sester had told her what to look for and so far, he had proven right. These Chandaran males were very predictable in their reactions. But he had also told her to watch for something else. A possibility. The man that Alara was fighting showed some promise.

With Alara's current progress, there were two possible outcomes. Success and optimal success. The second one carried a risk. It was time to test the possibility.

The Chandaran soldier was tiring. He was angry and humiliated and his frustration level was high. When Alara looked over to her for direction, Reya made a signal.

**********

Cally, Vila and Corinne were keeping sharp eyes out for activity but they hadn't spotted anything yet. Argus's two groups had also spent a frustrating time searching without any results.

Cally projected to Avon on the _Justice_, *_ Avon, have you found anything? _*

There was a brief lag and then Avon replied abstractedly, *_ Nothing as yet. I'm still looking. _*

**********

Alara was behind her male opponent and had him twisted in an elbow lock. Every attempt to move caused the man to stretch his muscles painfully. Stronger pressure would result in damage. Alara eased her pressure a bit and leaned closer to him. She whispered, "I'm sorry it had to be like this. I don't mean to hurt you but the way you feel now, that is how I feel most of the time."

She released her lock but kept her hand lightly on his wrist. For the first time, the man was able to turn around to face her.

There was anger on his face but also confusion at her words. He tried to pull his hand from her grip but she twisted slightly on his wrist to show that she was still in control.

As she had been all along, her words were soft. Just loud enough for him to hear her but not to be picked up by the microphones. Alara said, "The way you feel, the helplessness, the feeling that your life is over…that is how I have always felt."

For the first time, the man responded to what she was saying. He whispered warily, "What is this?"

Alara said, "I'm a Chandaran too. I know what will happen to you if you lose this match."

The man snarled, "I don't need your pity."

Alara was suddenly afraid. She knew what Reya wanted her to do. The Champion had explained to them all that she might ask one of them to do this. The reason had been given to them and the risk.

She might get hurt and lose. Losing was what she was afraid of most of all. After the training and the efforts to overcome her fears, she was now on the brink of a great victory. For the first time, she could win against a man. But Reya said that it was important and that for Chandar to change, it had to be about more than just herself.

Alara took in a breath of courage to still her own fears. She said, "It's not pity. I know what the other men will do to you if you lose. Chandaran culture does not accept failure."

The man said, "What is that to you?" He tried grabbing at her wrists but Alara bent her arm and grabbed both of his instead.

Alara said apologetically, "I know that I've made you look bad. It's not your fault. My fighting style is one that has never been seen on Chandar before and for which you have no defence. That is why we used it."

The man said angrily, "I am not going to lose to you." He suddenly lunged towards her and tried to push her back. Alara quickly moved back, pulling him further in the direction he was moving and causing him to stumble and fall. He tried to get up but Alara was now behind him, holding one of his wrists in a lock.

Alara shook her head. "You know you will. If I wanted to, you would not be able to get up from the floor."

"We'll see about that!" The soldier struggled to get up but with a twist of the wrist, Alara kept him down. Further struggles caused pain as Alara angled his wrist further. The man was breathing hard with the efforts to free himself. He finally stopped thrashing about before he broke his own wrist. He whispered heatedly, "Finish this!"

Alara suddenly let go of his wrist and stepped back to let him get up. The man stood up and eyed her warily. They circled each other. He asked under his breath, "Why did you do that? You could have won."

Alara said, "I know but not like this. I want to give you a chance. Not because of pity but because we are both victims of circumstances we have no control over."

They continued circling each other, looking for an opening while they carried on a conversation. With the shouts from the audience, no one could hear them.

The soldier said, "You're not a victim here. You are getting what you want. You're winning."

Alara said, "But only in this fight. I've been a victim all of my life. That is how I feel as a woman on Chandar. Helpless and hopeless, just as you are feeling now. But imagine feeling that everyday of your life."

"I…never thought of it that way." The fight was no longer just on the challenge field, there was a struggle in the man's eyes. "I mean, you're a woman. You're not supposed to…" The man fell silent as he realized what he was about to say.

"We're not supposed to think for ourselves? Or have feelings? Or want more out of life than the limited place that is available for women here? I'm a human being. What you feel, I feel too."

The soldier said, "I…didn't realize." He continued circling but it was more out of habit than trying to find an opening to attack.

Alara said, "It's not your fault."

The man said reluctantly, "You're the better fighter here. You…should win. Don't worry about me."

Alara said, "What if neither one of us wins or loses?"

"You mean a draw?"

"Yes. I want it to look more like an even match."

The soldier's brow furrowed as he considered this. "I don't know…"

Alara said, "We can do it together. Most of my training is in locks and holds. If I don't use those all the time, you will have a chance."

"You would do that?"

"I would."

The man hesitated as he looked at her for the first time as a human being. "Thank you."

Alara asked, "What's your name?"

"Brady."

"Mine's Alara."

**********

For the next hour, Alara and Brady continued their fight. This time it was a more even contest. Brady was connecting with some of his strikes and Alara blocked and controlled his movements at other times. They put on an entertaining and close performance. The crowd cheered and encouraged him. Some of the Champions in the audience, Brent's former staff and a few brave strangers were supporting Alara.

Brady was pulling his punches so that he wouldn't hurt Alara too much but it wasn't apparent to anyone watching. In return, Alara allowed him to escape from some of her holds. They were both getting very tired, Brady was almost exhausted.

Reya held up her hand for attention. The judges acknowledged her and both she and Captain Kegan approached their booth as the contest continued in the circle.

Kegan asked when he came within earshot, "Are you giving up?"

Reya's smile did not touch her eyes. "You know the outcome of this contest as well as I do, Captain. If you don't, I am perfectly willing to wait another hour until there is no question."

Kegan pointed at her heatedly, "You tricked us!"

Reya gave him an icy smile. "It was no trick. Your arrogance defeated you. You thought you couldn't lose and so you dismissed our intelligence and our abilities."

The lead judge, Hallam, a bulky former fighter who was now a respected fight adjudicator said, "It appears that we have."

Kegan was nearly spitting in his anger, "Tricks!"

Reya said, "Fighting is not just about pounding each other until someone falls over. It is about speed, intelligence, technique and understanding of motion and the human body."

Kegan said, "Don't try to teach me about fighting."

Reya said with a flat smile, "_Someone_ should."

Kegan moved aggressively towards her.

Hallam, put a firm hand on the man's arm. "Captain, don't embarrass yourself." His eyes became hard. "_Or us_."

Kegan faltered and stepped back. "Sorry, sir."

The lead judge turned to Reya. "We've misjudged all of you."

Reya's voice was respectful when speaking to the judge. "Your preconceptions have not served you well."

Hallam was a calm, intelligent man who had barely missed being instituted as a Champion himself. He was a personal friend of President Trist, which was why he had been chosen. "This is the true purpose of these contests, the challenging of preconceptions."

Reya inclined her head in acknowledgement.

Hallam said, "You called for this meeting."

Reya said to the Captain, "Your fighter cannot win against a style he has no defence against. Mine cannot win in a contest of straight punching ability. That is what our two fighters are showing us. You know that if my fighter had not let yours go and allowed him to use his strikes, he would be helpless and your defeat would be a particularly humiliating one. We want to avoid this. It was not our intention to embarrass you or to prove that we are superior."

Hallam asked, "You have a proposal?"

"I do. But only if the Captain is agreed."

Hallam asked Kegan, "Do you have confidence that your man will win if this contest continues? Answer me honestly."

Kegan looked over to where Alara and Brady were still trying to fight. An expression, half between a snarl of anger and a grimace of frustration, tightened his face. He said reluctantly, "In a few weeks…but not right now."

Reya smiled. "In a few weeks, do you think we would be using the same style?"

Hallam said, "Then you are both agreed that this contest will be a draw?"

Reya nodded, "I agree."

Kegan growled out, "Yes."

**********

As the team leaders returned to their respective sides, Hallam spoke to his fellow judges. A decision was made and Hallam stopped the fight. Alara and Brady stepped back from each other with relief.

There was much stirring in the crowd.

Hallam came forward and stood between them. In a loud official voice, he said, "It is the determination of the judges' panel that this match is over. We have decided that the outcome will be the same even if the fight continues. We declare that this contest is a draw." He lifted up both Alara and Brady's hands.

The noise level rose as more people tried to speak at once.

Hallam said, "This was a fair contest and each side showed considerable skill. I want you to remember that. As each of the teams has won one match, this means that the result of the First Challenge is a tie."

There was stunned silence and then the hall erupted in loud voices, some angry and outraged and some hesitant cheers.

**********

On the ship, Avon watched impassively as the contest ended and the results were announced. He mused, _The object is not the contest. Then it must be the President._

Avon asked, "What would they gain by assassinating the President?"

Sester had been doing his own thinking and replied, "Not as much as by not assassinating him."

Avon demanded, "Explain."

Sester sat up. "They know that _we_ know there are aliens at work on Chandar. We've already exposed several of them."

"And killed them."

"Yes. They would want to draw as little attention to themselves as possible but still advance their goals."

Avon looked at the diagram again, "Assassinating the President would be very noticeable."

"Yes. It would centre everyone's attention on hunting them down as the threat that they are."

The hall took up the majority of the building with several corridors leading away to smaller rooms. Avon mused, "Whereas, the public Challenges turns everyone's focus to one place."

"Very convenient if your goal is not the Challenges."

Avon was deep in thought. "The President could still be the focus but no one would be paying attention to him."

"Right."

The corner of Avon's eyes crinkled as he concentrated. "But it would not be something as overtly offensive as an assassination."

"Not if they wanted to keep low and continue their work of taking over the Chandar Alliance," said Sester. He had already come to a conclusion but he let Avon work it out for himself.

Avon's eyes widened. "Their method was infiltration. It still is!" He quickly zoomed the diagram to the adjacent corridors. "There are four possible routes the Presidential party could take to leave the building. They'll intercept them and…they'll need a room."

Avon hit the comm button. "Argus. I know what they're doing."

Argus's voice responded over the speakers. "What are they doing?"

"They're going to take over the President and replace him with an alien duplicate."

Argus's voice was all business, "I can't see him from here. His party must have left already. We'll have to do a search."

Avon said, "I don't have an exact location but I have the possible routes he could be taking."

"Send them to the teams' datapads. We'll split up and search."

Avon marked the routes and sent them down. "Done."

**********

Argus and two of the Athol soldiers raced along the corridors with weapons drawn. No President. He could not have left yet or Avon would tell him that the President's transport had left.

"Spread out and check the rooms!" The soldiers moved off.

None of the other teams had reported in. This was not good. That most likely meant the Andromedans had taken the President's party already and was in the process of duplicating him.

He listened at one door after the other. There was an angry, muffled voice in the fifth one. Trist's voice. He signalled the two soldiers and they raced towards him. There was an angry shout, abruptly cut off with a sound that Argus recognized. A solid object hitting a skull. There was no time to get more help. These aliens didn't need the President alive to duplicate him.

Argus signalled with his hand, coordinating their entrance. One of the soldiers positioned his pistol to shoot the door panel. Argus and the other one readied themselves for a quick entrance. He counted off with fingers raised. Five. Four. Three. Two.

The soldier shot out the door and it slid open. One.

Argus and the soldier rushed in, guns blazing. Argus brought down four and the soldier two in the space of a few seconds before the Andromedans had a chance to react and bring their weapons up. There were too many people in the room. The President was tied to a chair. He looked dazed and blood flowed from a head wound.

One of the aliens pointed a gun to the President's head. "Put your guns down or I will shoot him now."

Argus's voice rumbled dangerously. "I don't think so. This is a no-win scenario. You will kill him and us regardless of what we do. You can't let us live. The only real choice is how many of you are willing to die with us." As he was speaking, Argus deliberately moved his pistol to cover the man threatening the President. He steadied his gun hand by wrapping his free one awkwardly around the wrist wearing the teleport bracelet. He barely moved his lips as he whispered to the two soldiers who were back-to-back with him. "Get ready." His men gripped their pistols tighter and readied themselves to fire.

Argus asked the aliens, "What do you say? We have nothing to lose if we're going to die anyway. I am giving you a chance to survive. Give up now and we will spare your lives. Don't and take the chance that you will be the one to die and I guarantee you that over half of you will be dead before we hit the ground. You have seen how fast we are."

The alien with his gun to the President said, "You're not in a position to bargain."

Argus laughed. "You are though. For your own lives." His eyes swept the room slowly, trying to stretch out the time. He knew Avon would have understood the message but would he be quick enough? They were about to find out. Time was running out. "I'm prepared to die. I am always prepared to die. But are you?"

The alien said, "You….must be stalling for some reason. Kill them all now!"

Before the alien had finished saying the word, kill, a familiar energy could be heard and a distortion of the air. The Andromedans all turned to look at the disturbance while Argus and the soldiers fired. In panic, the aliens pointed their guns back at Argus and the soldiers again but by then the teleport energies had solidified, revealing Lt. Dain and his team. For the next few moments, the room was a deadly net of phase and laser tracers as men and aliens on both sides fell.

When the energies cleared, all of the aliens were down. Argus stood protectively in front of Trist. His arm was bleeding from a deep laser slice to his right forearm.

The remaining soldiers checked the wounded and dead as Argus and Dain released Trist. Argus checked the President's eyes. "He's going to be out for awhile."

Most of the aliens were dead. One of the soldiers had also died. Three others were wounded, including Argus.

Argus contacted the ship, "Quick work, Avon. We have the President, he's alive."

When Argus had covered his teleport bracelet earlier, he had pressed the comm button. Avon had heard Argus's voice and immediately guessed what was going on. As Argus stalled, Avon had quickly arranged for Dain's team to be transferred to Argus's location. Just in time.

Argus said, "You'd better bring Cally back up. We'll need the Tellaran doctors too. We have wounded."

Chapter Thirty-One

Avon had rushed to the teleport room as Argus and the others arrived. Argus was directing the injured to be conveyed to the medical bay while he arranged security on the single injured alien who had survived.

Avon stood back out of the way as he watched this activity. There was a lack of emotion on Argus's face. Just the proficient and detached calm of a man doing his job.

After the last man had exited, Argus stood staring after them into empty space, his hand absently covering the still wet wound on his arm.

Avon said in a voice devoid of emotion, "You're dripping."

Argus turned startled eyes to him. "What were you saying?"

Avon said, "You're bleeding."

Argus looked down at the deep slice on his arm. "I suppose I am."

"You suppose?"

Argus's voice was flat. "Innes died." He was the soldier who had rushed into the room with him, shoulder-to-shoulder and with guns blazing.

"Who?"

Argus's eyes closed and his head bowed. His jaw tightened in anguish. "Innes, one of the soldiers. He died on the mission. Not that you would care, you never knew their names. I doubt if anyone cared to know their names."

Avon kept his voice neutral. "It's frequently easier not to care if you don't know their names."

Argus opened angry eyes. His voice was full of bitter sarcasm. "Is that what you do, Avon? Keep them nameless so you don't have to care? Just like you did with the women?"

For Avon, it was much easier not to care. For him love had always ended in pain; the agony of being betrayed or the anguish of a soul-emptying loss. Caring enough to be hurt was foolishness. The deeper the love, the greater the devastation.

His pragmatic mind had presented him with a logical solution, just not a human one. It was what he told everyone. Perhaps if he said it enough times, pushed enough people away, then he could believe it too.

At Avon's silence, Argus asked, "Do you wish that we had never remembered our childhood? Never remembered that we had been friends? So that you don't have to care? Is that why you refuse to let me call you Kerr?"

"You're a fool."

Argus looked down at his bleeding arm and grimaced. He was starting to register the pain. "I suppose I am. A stupid fool." Unconsciously he squeezed with his hand, causing the blood to flow again. And more pain.

Avon grabbed his hand away and asked sharply, "What are you doing?"

Argus looked up at him. The pain of too many wounds making his eyes squint as if it were blinding him. "Another one died, Avon."

Anna's voice from the past haunted Avon's present. _How much pain do you think a human being can endure, Avon? _She had asked him that once as he held her in his arms after they had shared an intensely physical interlude.

_In a physical sense or a psychological one? _he had asked for clarification, as if it were an intellectual exercise.

Anna had twisted around to look into his penetrating eyes. And then she had kissed him deeply, the question ignored in a flurry of passion. She had never asked him again.

A cold-blooded question from a woman who knew from the beginning what she was planning to do to him.

How much pain can a human being endure? As he looked into the eyes of the man who carried the burden of too many lives, he knew the answer, they both knew it.

Avon's eyes softened slightly and a voice escaped from the place that his conscious mind could not control. "It wasn't your fault. All of them followed you willingly."

"I never asked him, Avon. I should have…I _should_ have…" Argus shook his head. "Maybe he wouldn't have died today if I had."

Instinct caused Avon to reach out and put his hand on Argus's shoulder. "Jack, don't do this."

He felt a connection to this man. Not just because of a shared childhood that he barely remembered, but because of the pain. Their lives had been destroyed by people who would own and use them. But even more, there was the pain that would forever bind them to an agony they could barely face, because of a debt that could never be repaid.

Argus said with a voice ripe with pain, "Avon…Kerr…I can't do this anymore..."

"I know."

"But everyone…needs me to."

"Yes."

Argus asked in a tormented voice, "Why me?" His eyes glazed over and he collapsed while Avon tried to grab him. Avon staggered back under the weight. Sester had been leaning against the doorway, listening quietly. He quickly came over to help. They carefully lay the wounded man on the ground and knelt down beside him.

Sester said softly to himself, "Who else could it be?"

Avon asked, "What did you say?"

Sester lifted contemplative eyes to meet his. "Nothing." _That you want to hear._

Avon said, "We'll need help carrying him."

Sester said, "I'll do that." He stood up, went to the comm panel and called for assistance. When he came back, Avon had his hand over Argus's wound, applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

Sester knelt down as well. He couched his voice in soft concern, and pitched just a little higher. Reminiscent of younger times. "Kerr…"

"He has to go on."

Sester's eyes held a degree of concern that he would never have shown if Argus had been conscious. "They broke his heart and he's been trying to put the pieces back together ever since."

Avon said with bitter sarcasm, "You should know. People like you tore him apart and tried to make him into something he never wanted to be."

"They did it to all of us, Avon."

"You never resisted very much, if I recall. You always wanted the privilege they represented."

"Kerr…"

"Don't call me that."

Several soldiers came in to carry Argus to the medical unit.

**********

The women were in high spirits after the First Challenge had ended. There was a debriefing session and an impromptu celebration. Laughter and smiles abounded. Reya found the hugging a bit excessive but tolerated it with resigned acceptance. These were civilians. Some latitude had to be given.

Other than for the news of the success of the mission that had thwarted the aliens' attempt to replicate and replace the Chandaran President, they had not yet been informed that they had suffered a casualty.

Karita was exuberant and was giving personal demonstrations of different parts of her match. She said to Reya, "That last fall, it was…incredible. He didn't know what hit him."

The shy Alara was by herself in a corner. Corinne saw that she was unusually quiet, even more than normal, and came over to talk to her. She remarked, "You did really well."

Corinne's greeting roused Alara from her thoughts. "Thank you."

"You don't seem very happy."

Alara had to raise her voice to be heard above the boisterous noise in the room. "I was just thinking."

Having been raised on Chandar, Corinne felt a closeness to these women that none of the others did. "You don't have to worry about what's going to happen to you. These are good people. They'll protect you and I'm sure the Tellarans will take you in."

Alara said, "I know but…Chandar is my home. I don't know if I would feel comfortable elsewhere."

"You don't feel comfortable here."

Worry lined Alara's face. "Not anymore but maybe that's a good thing."

Corinne looked at her curiously. "You're thinking of staying?"

"I…don't know. If it's true that my man is an alien, I will probably be claimed by one of his relatives. If not…"

"You would go back to him?" Corinne asked incredulously. "But you can't, Alara. You can't go back to that life."

Alara's eyes were pensive. She looked like a woman trying to make a hard decision. "You've shown me a different life and for that I'm grateful. But when I was fighting down there and I was talking to Brady…"

"Brady?"

"Yes, that was the man I was fighting."

"What did he say?"

"Well, it wasn't what he said exactly. We're all doing this because we want the men to see us differently. And maybe that can change things. After talking to Brady…I'm…starting to think it might be possible."

"That's why you want to stay?"

"Yes. I want to continue fighting but in a different way. Would your mother mind if I asked her what she did to change your father?"

**********

After being treated by a deep tissue regenerator, Argus disappeared from the busy medical unit before a blood infuser could be attached to his arm.

Avon found him in the storage room that had been converted into a temporary morgue. Argus stood in solitary attendance over the body of the soldier who had been killed, his head bowed and his back vulnerable to whoever wanted to come in.

When he heard the door slide open and someone coming up behind him, Argus said without turning around. "I wanted to be alone."

Avon stopped beside him and looked down at the body. "I knew I would find you here."

"Is there an emergency?"

"Yes."

Argus asked with tired resignation. "What is it?"

"You're going to create an emergency if you don't go back to the medical unit. I'm not carrying you."

"You won't have to."

The soldier looked almost peaceful with his eyes closed in death. Avon wondered if it was possible to have that kind of peace in life. That kind of certainty.

Blake had had it and Avon had envied him that. But it was a certainty without any peace. Avon had always believed that it was the certainty of a fool, a simpleton. Or a dream of the insane. Only a man who couldn't afford to think could be so certain about things that made no sense in their world.

But none of that mattered now. He had killed Blake. And now, like the childhood friend who stood in silent vigil over a slain comrade, Avon had a debt to pay.

Avon's eyes closed as emotions threatened to bubble to the surface. He tried to remain in control. His jaw tightened as his stomach twisted in the pain of guilt and loss.

Blake. This man had confused him when he was alive. Full of such compassion and humanity; the insane dreamer that he had derided but, against his better judgement, had wanted to believe.

Then there was the fanatic who didn't know that his actions and the way he treated his crew made his words and dreams a hypocrisy. This was the man that Avon had come to despise.

Unlike the others, Avon had seen both clearly from the beginning. The two halves of Blake; the man and the madness. The dreamer and the destroyer. One had drawn Avon to him and gave him a reluctant hope; the other had driven him away and made Avon want to be free of him at any cost.

Blake was dead now. Avon grimaced at the increased pain from his stomach. He had killed him. It didn't matter if it had been in error or that he had snapped because of one more betrayal by a man that he both loved and hated, had finally proven too much to bear.

Now he would never be free of Blake. He would be haunted by the man's memory and the guilt forever. It was a fitting sentence.

Argus turned to the silent man beside him. A tight grimace marred Avon's face. What thoughts were troubling this tortured man now? Was it possible for either one of them to be free from the ghosts that haunted them? Argus asked worriedly, "Avon? Are you alright?"

Avon roused himself from ghostly thoughts. His face became emotionless again. "You're the one who's hurt."

"I'm fine. This is nothing."

"You left before they finished treating you. You need time with the blood infuser."

Argus turned to look at the soldier again. "I…needed to be _here_."

"It's not going to bring him back."

"It's not about that. It's…about respect. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

It would be easy for Avon to say that he didn't, but it would have been a lie. If Cally was here, Avon knew that she would say Argus needed a friend. He needed someone who could listen and understand what he was going through. Avon understood, perhaps more than anyone did, the burdens that weighed them both down.

Avon's words came hesitantly. Even though he had been sharing with Cally, and a little with Vila, it was still something that came very unnaturally. "I once risked my life because of the memory of a dead woman."

"I'm sorry, Avon. I forgot about Anna."

"Tell me about Innes."

**********

When Vila arrived back at his cabin to retire for the night, Corinne knew that something was wrong. "Vila, what happened?"

Vila sat down heavily on the bunk that Corinne was trying to prepare for the night. His shoulders were slumped. "One of the soldiers died today."

"Oh no!" Corinne sat down and put her arms around him in comfort. "What was his name?"

Vila looked at her with pained and troubled eyes. "His name was Innes."

Corinne said with silent sorrow, "Oh no."

Vila asked, "You know who he was?"

"Yes. He was one of the soldiers who gave me training. He taught me field hand signals and some other things. He was very nice."

This depressed Vila further. "I…had to ask someone what his name was. I never knew any of their names. They were just soldiers. But they weren't, Corinne…and now Innes is dead. And I had to ask someone his name." He was depressed. "They all call me, sir, and I don't even know their names." And he felt guilty.

"We should do something nice for him. Do you know if he had any family?"

The idea that he could do something brightened Vila's attention. "We should find out. We should…hold some kind of ceremony for him." He straightened up and said with resolve. "I'm going to know all of the soldiers. Every one of them."

Chapter Thirty-Two

Argus was lying on the couch in his cabin with his head resting on Reya's lap. She had a hand on his chest while she stroked his head with the other. It was comforting and calming for both of them after a stressful day.

Argus's injured arm was encased in a stiff healing cast in order to prevent him from moving it too much and reopening the wound. The fingers of his free hand lightly traced the back of hers.

Reya asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Argus said despondently. "What good would it do? It's not going to bring him back."

"It won't but it would help you deal with it."

Argus sat up. "I don't want to deal with it."

Reya sighed. "You just want it to continue hurting. But is it for him or yourself."

"He deserves someone to pay the price of losing his life."

"He did it for you, Argus. They're all doing it because of you. That's why they left Athol, their family and friends. They know that you're doing something good and they wanted a part of it. They also trust you with their lives. For the same reason your men have always trusted you. It's the same reason why the people on this ship trust you, even Avon."

The corner of Argus's eyes crinkled in a pained wince. "But people die around me, Reya. They shouldn't trust me. I can't keep them safe…no matter how much I try." He buried a heavy head in his hands.

Reya drew his head to her chest and stroked his head gently. "I know. It's because you are like this…that they love you. They would follow you anywhere."

"I don't want them to." Argus's shoulders began shaking; the silent, tearless expression of a man weighed down by grief and guilt, but who had been trained never to show weakness.

"You can't fight by yourself, Argus. You cannot face the enemy alone."

"I can try."

"It's not your decision, Argus."

"I'm the leader."

"Then it is your job to lead and give their lives purpose. But you do not control their lives. If they are willing to take the risks, that is their decision. It is not your right to deny it. Just as it is not your right to make them take risks they don't want to. That decision is not yours to make. If you wish to free people from the tyranny of the Federation then you must begin it here. Allow these people the freedom to choose the direction of their lives. That means you must let them choose to take the risks as well as to refuse them."

"You mean the freedom must be the same?"

Reya rested her head on his. "You know it is but it is in your nature to take responsibility for everything. Even if it was someone else's decision."

"I can't help feeling responsible." He touched her face gently. "You would make a better leader."

"No. They may respect me but you are the one that they love. You are the one who suffers for them."

"Don't make me sound like some kind of hero, Reya. I'm not. I have too much blood on my hands and there is too much darkness in me. I'm just a flawed man trying to pay the universe back for all the lives I've taken."

Reya tilted his head so that she could look into his troubled eyes. "I love you."

"You're very wise."

A smile lightly played on Reya's lips and touched her eyes, "Because I love you?"

"No…I mean, you see things I can't."

"Only because it's hard for you to be objective about things that touch you personally. Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"You mean, like you don't have to worry about the others?"

Argus smiled wryly.

Reya traced the smile with her fingers. "Can you at least promise me that you won't keep it bottled inside?"

"I'll try."

**********

There was a sombre atmosphere in the packed cargo hold. The Athol soldiers were in full dress uniform of dark green and black. They were lined up on either side, standing guard over their fallen comrade, their heads facing downwards in mourning and rifles in a rest position, with the barrels pointed to the ground.

President Trist and his officials and the Champions were also in attendance.

Argus stood forward. His voice echoed like a rumble of thunder in close confines. "We are here to remember a fallen comrade, Gar Innes. He gave his life because he believed that there are some things worth fighting for. He was instrumental in saving the life of President Trist. And he made valuable contributions on all the missions that we have been involved in. He was solid and dependable. A good soldier and a patient teacher. A man who was always ready to lend a hand when it was needed. He was a man who appreciated good food and lots of it. I understand he was also good cook though we never had the opportunity to enjoy his talents here. I suppose…" There was a slight tremor in his voice. "…we never will." He recovered quickly. "Innes's life and his name will not be forgotten. We will finish the work that he helped start. We will defeat the aliens here, in his memory, and then we will bring him home."

Argus caught Lt. Dain's eyes. Dain called, "Attention." The heads of all the soldiers snapped up as one, and they brought their rifles to the front, in a vertical salute.

One of the sergeants put a long instrument to his lips, an Athol musical apparatus that looped around itself. A mournful refrain filled the cargo hold, a solitary sound calling everyone to remembrance. After the echoes of the last note died, they all stood in hushed silence.

**********

After the ceremony, Avon and Cally watched as the others mingled and had refreshments.

Avon thought to her, * _Cally, be careful when you go down again. _*

Cally projected, *_ Have you found out more information? _*

_* There was only limited information on the computer once the encryption was broken. But we know that they are organized here and they are deeply entrenched. We are at a disadvantage if we cannot identify who they are. They could be anyone. Are you able to sense any difference in the alien we captured? *_

* _Not yet. _*

There was no change in expression on Avon's face as their minds spoke. * _I could find no physical difference that we could detect with our current scanners. The duplication appears to be exact while they are in a transformed state._ *

* _How is that possible? _* asked Cally.

*_ We know their technology is superior to ours but I have some new ideas. Our captured alien will be useful in many ways. _*

*_ Hopefully he'll be even more useful once we wake him and he can be questioned. I will be careful on the planet but I need you to be careful about your time. Adding one more task to your list is not healthy for you. _*

_* We will both take care. *_

**********

After the remembrance ceremony, there was a subdued debriefing of the previous day's events and accomplishments. The high spirits had taken on a serious air. The Second Challenge was scheduled for the next day. There was nervous apprehension but also increasing confidence. Everyone spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Reya, Cally, Corinne and Marlena spent some time together. Another tea had been arranged in Reya's cabin.

Corinne reported, "Some of the women want to stay after the Challenges."

Marlena said, "That's good."

Reya said, "That's what we were hoping for."

Cally had noticed the unhappy look on the young woman's face. "You're concerned?"

Corinne's eyes studied the clear surface of the table. "I wish they didn't have to. It's not going to be easy for them."

There was gentle joy on Marlena's face when she regarded her daughter. "They know the cost, Corinne, but they are willing to pay it."

"Just like you did, mother?" When Corinne looked at her mother, it was always with awe and pride.

"Sometimes Corinne, what is important is not living or dying but what you chose to live or die for. These women have made a choice, just as I did. I will also be staying here after the Challenges."

"Mother…" Corinne put her hand on her mother's arm in alarm.

"It's alright, Corinne. I will not leave your father again and I want to finish the work I began here."

"I…should stay with you."

Marlena patted her daughter's hand. "You have your own path to follow, Corinne. You have made your choice. You have your own battles to fight."

Reya said, "We will take care of her, Marlena."

Marlena smiled in soft appreciation, "I know I'm leaving her in good hands."

**********

Sester sat thinking in his cabin, his fingers idly touching the half-finished chess game with himself. The death of the soldier was unfortunate but it served a useful purpose. It focused the Chandaran women's energy. Rather than just elevated spirits that gave them falsely high confidence, they now had a realistic understanding of the stakes.

Since the First Challenge had ended in the optimal solution, it had opened up certain opportunities. They were ones that other people rarely recognized, but someone like him did. Achieving the impossible was what he was good at. Of course, it involved great risks. But they were calculated ones.

He would need the cooperation of two people. And a great deal of secrecy.

Sester went to the door to visit the first of these people, and crashed into Kirsten, who had her hand raised to use his door chime. They both rubbed sore heads that had banged into each other. Sester could feel a bruise growing and saw a corresponding red mark developing on Kirsten's temple.

Sester said, "We've got to stop running into each other like this."

Kirsten rubbed her head. "You could always wear something that gives off a signal."

Sester eyed her suspiciously. "How did…what are you doing here, Kirsten?"

"I would have thought that would be obvious. I'm here to see you."

"Let's get past the obvious, shall we? What are you doing here? And why?"

Kirsten peered into Sester's cabin. "Are you going to invite me in?"

For some reason, this woman set him on edge. She had penetrating eyes that seemed to be able to see right through him. Normally being naked with a woman was not a situation that made him uncomfortable. But the feeling of being bare even though he was fully clothed was disconcerting.

This woman made him feel naked just by looking at him. It was not unlike the feeling he had when standing in front of his master. The Guildmaster had always been able to see right through him too. It was never a safe place for a devious and clever person like himself to be in.

Sester said, "If you give me a good reason."

There was an amused expression on Kirsten's face. "You did nearly give me a concussion."

Sester reluctantly moved aside to let her in. He grumbled, "That's hardly my fault."

Kirsten smiled. "Don't you find it interesting that we usually seem to have the same conjunction of actions at the same time?"

"Isn't that what they call a complete accident?"

She seemed intrigued by his antagonism, "Where were you going?"

Sester hesitated.

Kirsten asked, "You were going somewhere, weren't you?"

Sester scowled. A ready lie was on his lips but instead he found himself admitting, "I was coming to see you."

Kirsten gave him a knowing smile.

Sester said with irritation, "You knew?"

"I suspected so after the results of the First Challenge. The _timing_ was coincidental if that makes you feel any better."

Sester blew out an aggravated breath. "But you _knew_."

"Does it make you uncomfortable?" She walked slowly towards him.

Sester stood still as she approached, unwilling to give ground to her. She invaded his space and took another step forward, until he could feel her warm breath on his face and her body lightly brushing against his. Sester could feel the aggression triggering involuntary primal reactions that could easily turn into something else if she made the right or wrong moves.

This was a dangerous game she was playing but he had the impression that she knew what she was doing and had judged it very carefully. However, it couldn't be. It was not possible that she had that kind of finely honed instinct. That kind of control.

There was one thing that she was showing him though. She loved the danger of human interaction and she liked taking risks.

Kirsten said in a guttural voice, "How else does it make you feel?"

Sester knew that all he had to do was reach out and touch her. Then they would spend the next few hours exploring something that would give them great physical pleasure. He said in low warning, "You're playing a dangerous game, Kirsten. You should never play with a man like this unless you're prepared to be burned." He leaned towards her.

Kirsten stepped back. "You misjudged me. I _never_ play _that_ kind of game."

Sester looked at her in confusion.

Kirsten backed up again. "I was trying to show how you make other people feel. Your ability to read them makes them feel as if they're _naked_."

"How did…" Now he was angry. How did she know how he was feeling? That sense of nakedness was not something that would have shown on his face, not with his control. It would have required a very subtle reading.

"You jumped to the wrong conclusion."

Sester asked, "What are you trying to do, Kirsten?"

Kirsten smiled and ignored his question. "I'm leaving now." Without another word, she left a confused man behind.

Sester was full of anger but there was still a strong physical desire. He scowled as he realized that Kirsten had left before he had an opportunity to say what he had to say. Now _he_ was forced to go to _her_. And ask her to do something.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Jenna stirred as dreams of the past filled her sleeping mind.

Trebular. It was your regular agricultural planet out on the frontier. Not the kind of place that Jenna had imagined retiring to. Dull, placid, and stolid people with little imagination and not much in terms of creature comforts. Not her kind of place at all. She kept looking for civilization but it seemed that the colonists that originally populated this place had valued old, traditional and very dead values.

"Back to nature" and "One with nature" were odd catch phrases that only told her that it was going to be very dull here. It would be a chore to prevent herself from dying of boredom.

_No. I'm not retiring here_, she reminded herself. This was just a temporary rest station while they decided what to do next. At least that was what she kept telling herself.

She stared around the one-roomed prefab structure that had little nooks for bedroom, kitchen, living room and storage room, all separated by a flimsy curtain-like material. Not even real solid walls. They were lucky to have indoor sanitation facilities.

Jenna's lips curled in distaste. Even in her worst days after her mother had lost all of their money, it was much better than this. The only equivalent she could think of was the time after she had been caught and sentenced to Cygnus Alpha.

She supposed that anything would be better than that fate but this came a close second. Jenna really hoped that Blake would snap out of whatever mood he was in presently and they'd find some real civilization. Jenna hadn't come this far in order to go backwards.

Maybe she should recommend the idea that Avon had suggested. Blake should go back to Earth and unite all the rebel groups.

If only Blake would let her contact Avon to pick them up. No matter what she said about Avon, the man did keep his promises. He would already have them back on Earth by now, probably at standard by twelve. Just to get rid of Blake faster.

He had minced no words when he blew up at Blake that last day before everything went to hell. She had never heard such venom in his voice before. But she had also never heard such concern in his tone before either after Blake had been shot by Travis. The man did confuse her.

Blake came in and brushed the dust from his clothes. "It's dry out there." He ran his fingers through his curly hair to remove more dust.

Jenna poured a glass of water from the temperamental reclamation unit, rapping it on its side when it sputtered halfway through. "This thing needs fixing again." She muttered under her breath, "Like everything else around here."

Blake kissed her on the cheek as he accepted the glass. "Thank you, Jenna." He gulped the contents down thirstily and wiped his volumous sleeve across his mouth. "I'll take a look at it but my engineering skills are rusty and I was never very good at it. I was following the management track back then."

"Why is that not surprising?" Jenna took the empty glass and filled it again.

Blake accepted the glass and rolled it slowly in both hands. "That's why I always left the technical jobs to Avon."

"Yes…our _technical_ _genius_." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Blake asked with amusement, "You never did like him, did you, Jenna?"

"Let's not talk about Avon."

"Alright, what do you want to talk about?" Blake put the glass down and went to get some tools to fix the reclamation unit.

"I want to know when we're getting off this dust ball excuse of a planet and back to civilization." Jenna picked up a nearby cloth and threw it over the glass. Dust got everywhere on this miserable planet.

"You don't like it here?" Blake bent down and removed the side panel of the unit. He put his thumb to his lips as he contemplated where to start.

Jenna noticed that Blake had lost many of the nervous habits that he used to have on the _Liberator_. They only resurfaced when something was giving him stress.

"I've only told you five times that I hate it here. This would make it six. Not that I'm keeping count."

Blake poked a tool into the machine and was rewarded with a spark that caused him to pull back with a yelp.

Jenna said, "Maybe we should get a repair technician instead. You can manage him."

"You have very little faith in me, Jenna."

"Only in your repair skills. Let me see that hand."

"It's nothing. Just a spark."

"Let me be the judge of that."

Blake stood up while Jenna got the tissue regenerator. She applied it to the red mark on the back of his hand.

**********

Several weeks later, they were still on the miserable dust planet. Blake came in with a large grey packet in his hands and threw it on the table with a heavy thud.

Jenna was trying her own hands at fixing the reclamation unit. It had broken down entirely and there were no free repair technicians, not to mention they all had very expensive rates these days. Again, Jenna wished they'd nipped into the treasure room of the _Liberator_ before they left.

Jenna looked up and asked, "What's that?"

"It's a food packet. They're handing them out."

Jenna stood up and wiped her hands on a cloth. At the corner of the package was a familiar Federation seal. She asked curiously, "They broke into the Federation storage facilities?"

Blake's throat was tight with tension, "_They_ were handing them out."

"You mean the Federation was?"

Blake's eyes flashed dangerously. "Yes."

Knowing Blake's mind, Jenna asked, "You think it's a plot?"

Blake said angrily, "Of course it is. They're desperate to retain their power. They would do anything, including buying support with these. They're taking advantage of the situation."

Jenna was beginning to find that Blake wasn't a very practical man. He said a lot but when it came to the everyday details of living, he tended to be blind. She was the one who had taken care of most of their daily requirements. However, if they didn't get the reclamation unit fixed soon, they would run out of water.

Jenna opened up the box and examined the packed contents. She began pulling items out and arranging them on the table, organizing them by type. Nutri-bars and wafers. That caused her tongue to curl in distaste as she remembered the prisoner food on the _London_. Vitamin packs. Protein squares.

Blake asked sharply, "What are you doing?"

"Putting them away."

Blake took the tin away from her hands. "We're not using these. They're probably full of suppressants."

Jenna looked at the tin warily. "At least, don't throw it away."

Blake said firmly, "We're not using these, Jenna, even if we have to starve. I would rather die first."

Jenna sighed. "That's exactly what we might end up doing, Blake. If you bothered to pay attention, we're running out of everything. Soon we won't even have water. Then things are going to get very interesting."

Blake said, "Then we're agreed. We're not taking anything from them, Jenna. We've come too far to let them win."

"I don't call starving to death winning," Jenna said in a disgruntled voice. She had not said that she agreed. Blake just assumed as he always did. It usually took too much energy to argue with him when he was like this. He would never take no for an answer.

Jenna didn't like the idea of starving to death just to make a point.

Blake said, "I've contacted a few people. We're going to blow up the storage facilities."

Jenna asked with shock, "Are you crazy? People are starving and you want to blow up our only source of food?"

Blake said, "This is an agricultural planet, Jenna. They can grow their own. We have to force them to stop relying on the Federation. I thought that blowing up Star One was enough and people would rebel. But they need a little encouragement."

"So you're going to force them to rebel or starve?"

"There's no other way."

Jenna was trying to hold her temper. "Do you know why people are starving here?"

"They don't have the Federation to give them orders anymore once Star One was destroyed. They don't know how to think independently. Avon was right; I should have gone back to Earth to unite the alliance. People need leadership. I'm going to start it here."

Jenna shook her head. "You still don't get it. People aren't growing anything because it's impossible to do it without _water_."

Blake said, "That's ridiculous." He tapped the side of the reclamation unit. "We have water…at least once we get this fixed."

"And why do you think we have to use these? Because it hasn't rained on this planet since Star One was destroyed. The weather satellite control systems stopped working. The reclamation units are only enough for drinking water. They need a lot more for planting."

Blake rubbed the back of his suddenly tense neck. "Why didn't they say something?"

"Did you bother asking? I hope you didn't tell everyone that you had planned to blow up Star One before. I don't think it would go over very well right now, do you?"

Blake's voice became stubborn. "I was _right_, Jenna. We had to destroy Star One. It was the only way to break the Federation's power. We were only missing a few details. We can fix those and then everything will work out. You'll see. First, we have to stop the Federation from taking advantage of the situation. We have to stop people from turning to them."

"Blake, as hard as it is for you to accept, people prefer living under the Federation rather than dying free or seeing their children die."

Blake said contemptuously, "Federation slaves! They'd rather sell their souls for a full belly."

Jenna sighed. "They can't eat freedom, Blake."

"You can't live without freedom!" This was Blake the passionate crusader again.

"You can't. But they can."

"I can't rest until they're all free, Jenna. I can't."

_Even if they want to be free or not? Or kill them all trying? _Jenna thought but dare not say these words. It would sound like a betrayal in Blake's presence. His belief was firm. He accepted no other.

Jenna recognized this voice from Blake. It was an echo from the past. It was the magnet that had first drawn her on the _London_. It was the inspired and fervent voice of the dreamer.

There was a hard set in Blake's jaw and resolve in his eyes. Nothing was going to stop him when he was like this.

At least it meant they were finally going to leave this depressing planet.

Jenna jerked awake from her restless dreams.

**********

Sester smiled ingenuously at the regal figure on his view screen. The Federation President was a beautiful woman, especially when she was dangerous and devious; a combination that she managed better than anyone else.

Servalan said, "You're a ruthless man, Sester and your deviousness _almost_ rivals mine."

Sester put his hand over his heart, "I would never presume, Madame President. No one could be as…_creative_ as you are."

"Then what do I need you for?" Servalan asked coolly.

Sester smiled. "Why don't you tell me?" They both knew that if she didn't find him extremely useful, she would have returned him to the Guild long ago.

**********

Sester leaned against the wall as he peered surreptitiously around the corridor at the group of women coming out of a training room. He was a bit nervous, though he wasn't sure why. There was no reason to be. He had just finished meeting with the most dangerous woman in the Federated Worlds. A barely educated woman could hardly be a challenge for him.

Then how did she manage to completely unnerve him every time they 'ran' into each other. He was starting to get some very paranoid feelings. What was her agenda? Assuming she had one.

Was it purely a physical attraction? He had to admit that he was _somewhat_ attracted to her. Sester was determined to regain control in any future encounters. _He_ was the psychostrategist after all. His life was devoted to controlling others. No one controlled _him_ and didn't live to regret it. Except for the Guildmaster.

"Do you want to try it again?"

Sester nearly jumped as Kirsten appeared in front of him and peered questioningly into his eyes. He asked startled, "How did you get here?" How did she manage to sneak up on him? From the front?

"Is that a philosophical question? Because asking me how I got from the classroom to here would be silly, wouldn't it?"

"I…never mind." It was not starting out well if he planned to regain control. "I wanted to apologize about before." Now _why_ did he say that? Sester wanted to kick himself.

Kirsten tilted her head to study him with interest. Why did she always seem amused when looking at him? He was starting to get annoyed.

Kirsten said, "It's alright. I'm used to people misjudging me but…I thought you would be different." She sounded sad and disappointed.

"I'm sorry." Why did he just apologize again? He had no idea. It was getting aggravating.

There was a shy, pleased smile on her face. "You can be nice. Sometimes. When you're not thinking about it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're the psychostrategist."

"You're playing with me," he said accusingly.

"Are you having fun yet?" She suddenly stepped closer, causing him to back up against the wall. "Or is it only fun when you're in control and making all the rules?"

Reya came over to see what was going on. "Is there something wrong here?"

Kirsten stepped back with a smile, "Nothing at all, Reya. I was just asking Sester about strategy."

Sester cleared his throat. "Yes. She was asking me about strategy." He asked Kirsten, "Is that all you wanted to know?"

Kirsten said, "That's it for now. I know where to find you if I want something else." There was a twinkle in her eyes. "Thank you."

Sester tried not to grind his teeth in frustration. He regained control of himself and said with a tight pleasant smile, "You're welcome."

As he watched Kirsten leave, Sester could almost feel Reya's eyes boring into him. He said, "I know what you're thinking, Reya."

"And what am I thinking?"

There was no way he was going to tell Reya that Kirsten was the one toying with him. How could he live it down? The edges of his lips inched up in a grin. "You always think the worst of me."

"Not always."

"Just most of the time?" he asked with light sarcasm.

"Don't play with these women, Sester. I don't want them getting hurt."

"I would never hurt a woman, Reya."

"Kirsten is an intelligent woman."

"No woman will ever replace you…"

Reya snapped, "Don't play with me either."

Sester grinned roguishly as his humour returned. "I need _something_ to distract me."

"Find something _else_. I mean it, Sester. If you hurt one of these women…"

"You're going to hurt me? That might be worth it."

There was a frosty warning in Reya's voice, "Sester…"

Sester held up his hands in surrender. This would have worked better if there weren't a big smile on his face. "Alright. Alright."

Then he realized that Kirsten had once again walked away from him without giving him a chance to say what he needed to say. He rebelled at the thought that he needed to enlist her cooperation.

**********

Sester sat in his cabin again. He needed time to prepare himself after the latest encounter with Kirsten.

_Do not get irritated. Remain in control_, Sester repeated to himself. Deep breathing exercises and focussing of his mind. Going back to the beginning, when he had first learned the cold, iron discipline that characterized the psychostrategist.

He had concluded that the breaking down of his mind blocks and the concentrated dose of the mind drugs, not to mention the shock of recent discoveries about his past, were serving to disrupt his normal mental and psychological control. It must be similar to what was happening to Avon. But in his own case, it was a temporary condition.

_I'm not going to let her get to me again. _He closed resolute eyes and composed himself. Taking a deep breath that reach deeply to the lower reaches of his lungs, he held the air and counted slowly until he reached ten and let it out slowly again. He opened his eyes. His mind was calm and he felt nothing. He was ready.

Sester stood up and purposefully went to the door. He paused before activating the door panel, a light smile playing across his face. Even if Kirsten were outside the door again, she was not going to catch him by surprise. Not this time. No more accidental bumping of heads.

His hand pressed the button and the door slid open to an empty corridor. Sester grinned and stepped outside. This was a good beginning.

"I thought you might be coming to see me so I decided to save you the time." Sester jumped and his heart skipped several beats when he heard Kirsten's voice beside him.

Sester's jaw clenched in anger as his heart settled back to a regular, but elevated rhythm. He turned to his right. Kirsten was leaning back against the wall beside his door.

Kirsten asked with concern, "Did I startle you?"

He growled with exasperation, "Stop doing that!"

"Do you plan to be this grouchy _every_ time I visit you? Don't you think it might be better to do this _after_ you tell me what you need me to do? Or we're going to have to try this again."

Sester said in exasperation, "How do you know I need you for anything?"

Kirsten stared at him with a faintly amused expression on her face. "Are you saying that all of your previous attempts at meeting me…were purely on a social level? That's interesting."

Sester was speechless.

Chapter Thirty-Four

The scorching sun seemed to leech the moisture from her skin as Jenna followed Blake at a discreet distance, trying to keep the dust clouds raised by her boots to a minimum. Blake's meet with his fellow saboteurs was in an old abandoned warehouse at the edge of the city.

She kept to the shadows as much as possible while Blake looked to the left and right, wary of any Federation patrols or traps. He had a wide-brimmed hat pulled over his face and tried to move in a shuffling, limping gait.

Jenna had a bad feeling about this meeting.

The people she had talked to on the planet seemed to welcome the Federation's efforts to help them get back on their feet and become productive. Many of them actually saw the Federation as heroes and saviours. The vid-news services were still broadcasting exciting space battles between Federation ships and the alien invaders. There were numerous in-depth interviews with brave soldiers who had held the line and families of the many brave ones who had died to save humanity.

There were even long line-ups of people ready to join the Federation military. The Federation made sure to remind everyone that the Andromeda galaxy was still full of aliens who wanted to wipe them out. Destroying the invasion fleet wasn't the end of it. The way they depicted it on the news services, Andromeda seemed right next door.

Of course, this had made Blake angry and he was even more determined to act. He could see his dreams crumbling with every broadcast. Blowing up the storage facilities wasn't enough for him. Jenna knew he was planning much more. There had been mentions of the Federation recruiting centres and the vid-broadcasting buildings and blowing them up.

Blake slipped down a dark alley between two buildings and entered a side entrance. Jenna followed carefully, her eyes sharp for signs of danger. She reached inside her jacket. Her pistol slid smoothly out of her concealed holster. Blake said these were rebels that were going to help him blow up the food storage facilities but she didn't know them.

She pushed the door open a crack and peered into the gloomy darkness inside. Blake was nowhere in sight, nor anyone else for that matter. Like a thief, Jenna snuck in on soft feet, her pistol held ready in front of her. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She was in a long corridor with closed doors at evenly spaced intervals.

Which way did Blake go? It couldn't have been far if she lost sight of him that quickly. Jenna tried the closest doors, opening them a sliver, just enough to establish that they were empty of people before moving to the next one.

There was a muffled shout, "Don't move, Blake!"

Jenna started at the demand, her hand pausing before she pushed open the next door. It was just as she had feared. Blake was in trouble and these were no rebels. She put her ear to the door's cold surface and listened.

Muffled voices came from inside. Blake's loud, angry voice was clear. "Do you want to be Federation slaves? They're taking advantage of you! They know you don't have any choice!"

There was another loud, strident voice. "The only one I see who doesn't want to give people choice is you, Blake. You want to force us to fight the Federation by blowing up innocent people who only want to survive and are trying to do what they think is right. You believe yours is the only way and you're going to shove it down everyone's throats even if you have to kill some of us to do it. That's fine for you, Blake. You don't have family and friends that you can watch die right in front of your eyes. I thought you were a hero once...and I still do. I admired your courage and your convictions and I respect your intentions. We used to cheer whenever we heard of your exploits. But now that we're face-to-face with them, when our children, our family and friends will have to pay the price, we can't do it. We arranged all this just to see what your plans were. What you're proposing to do is kill many innocent people in order to force them to do what you want. We can't live with that, even if you can. We can't let you kill our families and friends."

"Sacrifices have to be made if you want to be free. I want you all to be free! I want you to be able to make your own choices! I don't want you to be slaves of the Federation!" Blake's passionate voice bellowed.

"We're not slaves if we work with them willingly. Just because we don't hate them and want to destroy them like you do, doesn't make us slaves. We will not fight your battles, Blake. Perhaps one day we may chose to, when the Federation is to us what they are to you. But that would be by our choice, not yours. Not anyone else's."

"You're pathetic! I should leave you to rot! You want to live like slaves? Live or die at the whim of the Federation, then fine! You're not taking me down with you! I'm getting out! I'm better off without you!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Blake. If you want to settle down here, peacefully, we are more than willing to welcome you and your identity would be safe with us. However, if you try to cause trouble with the Federation, then you are not welcome here and we will stop you. We can't let you harm our families. You are free to go, but we will keep your weapon and we will be watching you."

Jenna heard footsteps approaching and moved back from the door, covering it with her pistol. Blake came out, his face flushed with anger. He immediately put his hands up to protect himself when he saw her gun but relaxed when he saw her face. "Jenna."

Jenna kept her pistol raised and looked behind him to make sure no one was following. She said in an urgent whisper and pulled on his arm, "We'd better get out of here, Blake." As they rushed away, she turned back frequently to make sure they weren't being followed.

"You heard?" He rubbed the back of his neck as he reluctantly followed her.

"I heard. I had a bad feeling about this so I followed you. I don't think it's safe for us here anymore, Blake, no matter what they promised. Too many people know who you are."

Blake's eyes were troubled. "I thought that it would make a difference once we destroyed Star One. People would throw off the Federation once they had the chance. But this…"

Jenna's heart went out to him. He looked lost and hurt. His whole life's work seemed to be in ruins. There was desolation in his eyes, like someone who had looked into the abyss and found nothing but bleak emptiness.

_Don't you see, Cally? If we stop now then all we have done is senseless killing and destruction. Without purpose, without reason. We have to win. It's the only way I can be sure that I was right. _Blake's impassioned, almost desperate words rang in her head.

Blake said in a sinking whisper, "They don't understand. It was senseless after all..."

Jenna wanted to put her arms around him and give him the comfort that he often gave to others. "It wasn't senseless, Blake. You did it for a purpose. You couldn't have known that it would be like this here. And this is only one planet. We should find places where it did work."

Blake said, "Will we find any, Jenna? Avon warned me. He told me we should use Star One. He said that destroying everything won't work. People needed direction and order. He always told me that but I never listened. I always had to be the one who was right. I was determined to prove him wrong." Blake gave a depressed sigh. "But he was right." His voice rose in frustration, "Avon was always right. He must hate me for wasting two years of his life...for nothing. It was all pointless, without purpose, without reason. Just random acts of killing and destruction. He said it was insane from the beginning. He said we could never win. He must be laughing now."

"He wasn't right, Blake. You said it, Star One is too much power for anyone. You couldn't risk it using it. And at least you tried to do something. That's better than these people with their empty cheers."

Blake was angry and depressed, "I should have known on Cygnus Alpha."

"What about Cygnus Alpha?" Jenna asked cautiously. She had never admitted to Blake how close she and Avon had come to abandoning him on the planet.

Jenna could see that Blake was trying to draw up memories from his fractured past and it was not giving him good feelings. "The prisoners rejected me, Jenna. Only a handful were willing to come with me. The rest...would rather stay and be slaves of Vargas. I should have known then. People don't want to be saved."

Jenna sighed. She hadn't known what happened on Cygnus Alpha. She'd always assumed that Vila and Gan were the only ones who had survived the escape. "People do want freedom, Blake ...but when it comes to choosing freedom over living, living usually wins out."

Blake's voice rose heatedly, "Living without freedom. You might as well be dead! Jenna, we have to make them see it! If they won't do it for themselves, we have to do it for them."

Jenna was worried. Blake was emotionally erratic, his moods quickly shifting from depression to anger and now the fever of the crusader again.

Blake was a man who needed a purpose, a reason to live. He couldn't see people 'enslaved' and not do something about it. Being rejected was a big blow to him. It always made him angry that other people didn't see what he could clearly see.

Even if she didn't agree with some of his methods, Jenna didn't want him like this.

She could see from these people's perspectives but she also loved Blake for his passion and his desire to help them. Jenna still believed that the Federation had to pay for what it did to its own people. She still believed in Blake's dream. But not at any cost. Not after Star One and seeing what it's destruction had done to so many innocent lives. How could she? Maybe she could help Blake see it too. She had to try. They could not afford to lose someone like him. Someone who still cared enough to sacrifice himself to save others. He just needed to be guided.

Jenna knew that it would be a difficult task. Blake never listened to anyone except himself and he had lived far too long with the idea that the ends justified any means. Could she change him or would he end up changing her again? She had to try.

Jenna awoke from her dreams with a sinking feeling. She had been wondering why her subconscious had been dredging up these memories. Now she knew.

**********

Avon extended his arms over his head as he stretched work-stiff muscles. He was not alone though the engineers had already gone for the day. The shift duty sergeant was running some additional diagnostics that Avon had requested.

Avon stifled a yawn and took a long, satisfied look at his network tracking and analysis work. His uplink device had not been discovered and it was working perfectly. It enabled him to track the enemy's activity along the networks and identify other people of interest. He was building a comprehensive diagram of this hive of aliens. Soon they would have the entire network and they would be able to move against them, preferably before the aliens did something else damaging.

The Athol surveillance teams were being deployed more effectively with his new information. He checked that the program was still in automatic mode before retiring for the night.

A familiar soft humming sound drew his attention to the flight deck entrance. He watched with amused fascination as Spot rolled smoothly down the steps on its autoform-tracks. Lesser machines would have found stairs a challenge. One of these days, when he had time, he was going to take a closer look at this technology. It did not seem to be mechanical in nature and he didn't have time to look at it when he was fixing the little cleaner.

Spot glided towards him. There was something that looked suspiciously frilly on its head. Avon's eyes narrowed. "Spot, what is that on your head?"

Spot said brightly, "It's a hat! Do you like it, Master?"

"No, I do not like it."

Spot expelled a swish of air, which sounded like an unhappy little sigh.

Avon could guess who had decided to give Spot this unnecessary adornment. It had to be Spot's owner. "Was Corinne responsible for the hat?"

He was willing to accept some level of irrational behaviour. Corinne was Spot's owner after all and she was a young woman who seemed entranced by meaningless frivolities. She was the perfect partner for Vila.

The little cleaner reported, "No."

Avon lifted a surprised brow. "No?"

"No, Master."

"Who is responsible then?" Avon's mind automatically sorted through the gamut of people on the ship.

Spot reported cheerfully, "Sentha, Alara, Karita, Thela, Rakel…"

Avon said brusquely, "That's enough. I get the picture." His lips thinned in displeasure. The robotic cleaner had become a mascot. After all the time he spent upgrading it into a highly advanced machine, this was intolerable.

The little machine asked with trepidation, "Are you unhappy, Master?"

Avon said, "Why would that matter to a machine?"

The little cleaner said with decisiveness, "It's _important_."

"I see. You've been programmed to meet the needs of those you serve."

"Avon." Cally's voice lightly touched his ears as a bubble of amusement was projected his way.

Avon turned to see her come down the steps. "Cally."

Cally was taking the night cycle shift today. The duty sergeant acknowledged the handover of responsibilities and left them alone.

Cally said, "Spot wants you to be happy."

"It's a machine, Cally. It doesn't 'want' anything. It has been programmed to mimic specific humanoid behaviours in order to fulfil its function of serving its owners."

Cally sighed. "Sometimes I think you could do with a bit of programming yourself."

"I have considered it. It would make the learning process more efficient and take considerably less time."

Cally said, "Avon, I was kidding."

Avon stared at her a moment and then the corners of his mouth tugged in a mischievous grin.

Cally returned his bare smile with an affectionate one and placed her hand flat on his chest. "You're teasing me."

"I thought it might make you…happy."

The heat of his body penetrated through his dark blue shirt and warmed her palm. "You make me happy."

"It would be an interesting avenue to explore," said Avon.

Cally asked teasingly, "Which one? Making me happy or programming yourself?"

"I multi-task quite well."

"I'm sure you do." She leaned her head towards him, their lips parted in anticipation.

Spot whistled with excitement and its ears whirled with pleasure.

Cally and Avon looked at the little cleaner with surprised embarrassment. It felt as if they had been caught doing something that was very private.

Avon remarked with ill humour, "It's a machine."

Cally's eyes looked questioningly at him.

"Why do I…" It was so incomprehensible that Avon could not put words to what he wanted to express.

Cally could sense what he was feeling. "Why do you feel embarrassed? Could it be because you don't see Spot as a machine anymore?"

Avon automatically corrected her, "Cleaning appliance."

"I've noticed that you haven't called him that in a long time."

Spot happily beeped its agreement.

Avon glared briefly at it. "I call it by its acronym."

"Spot?"

"Sanitizing Patroller Omnidirectional Type," replied Avon in a purely factual tone.

Spot beeped a long query.

Cally said, "Oh, Avon."

There was a bright gleam in Avon's eyes and a light tinge in his deadpan voice as he asked, "Would you like to see me multi-tasking? After your shift, of course. And out of the watchful eyes of convenient acronyms."

**********

Vila decided to start on his mission to get to know the Athol soldiers. It was hard to find one free, since most of them were on the planet doing clandestine surveillance, but they had to eat and sleep sometime. The easiest places to find them were in his least favourite place, the gym, or his second most favourite place, the eating area. He decided on the eating area.

He approached a group of four soldiers with a mountain full of food. Lt. Dain and four others he was determined to find out the names of.

With a friendly smile he said, "Lt. Dain."

Dain paused in the middle of piercing a large bite-sized cut of meat with his fork. "Sir?"

"Vila."

Dain looked at him with uncertainty. "Sir?"

"My name's Vila."

"Yes, sir," Dain agreed.

"I mean, you can call me Vila. You don't have to call me sir."

With military correctness, Dain said, "That wouldn't be appropriate, sir. Not while on duty."

Vila eyed the tempting food on the table and pointed out, "You're not on duty, Lieutenant. What's your name by the way? When you're not on duty?"

"You want to know my name?" Dain asked as if it was a strange idea.

Vila was beginning to wonder if all military people were a bit slow when dealing with real life.

"You have a first name, don't you?

"Of course, sir."

"Vila."

Dain regarded him curiously, making Vila feel as if the man was sizing him up for a mission.

The burly, open-faced young lieutenant tested out the name tentatively, as someone who wasn't good at foreign languages, "Of course…Vila."

"That's it!" Vila said encouragingly.

Dain said, "Lucellavar."

"Eh?" Vila asked eloquently.

The other soldiers at the table suppressed snorts of laughter.

Dain glared at them defiantly with the full authority of someone not to be crossed. The soldiers all suddenly had a need to put something in their mouths and apply themselves to the busy task of chewing.

Dain said to Vila, "That's my first name, sir…Vila."

"Oh."

"But people always call me Dain."

Vila pondered this, "I'll just call you Dain then."

"That would be much appreciated, sir…Vila." Dain asked, "Would…you like to join us?"

"I'd love to." Vila pulled up a chair and they made room for him.

Dain made the introductions, "This is Lapley. He's an explosives expert." Lapley was a thin man with an equally thin moustache who reminded Vila of an old 'uncle' who had taught him some of the finer aspects of pick pocketing. He was one of the long-suffering sergeants. Lapley nodded. "Vila…sir."

"Next to him is Bari. He's our comm tech." The tech was a stiffly formal man with a half-moon scar over his left eye that gave him the appearance of having double eyebrows on one side. Bari nodded to Vila. "Sir."

Dain continued, "Across from him is Dyre. He likes breaking things."

Dyre, a cheerful man with dark brown hair that had started to grey, chuckled and stuck out a friendly hand to Vila, "That means I'm an engineer."

Vila shook the man's hand, trying not to wince at the strong grip.

"And last but not least is, Baxter. I have no idea what he does, maybe one day he'll decide and tell the rest of us," Dain said dryly.

Baxter, a short ruddy-faced man with freckles, was the youngest one of the group. He grinned, "If I weren't so good at everything, I might be able to decide."

Dain remarked, "He's also modest to a fault. One of many."

Baxter's grin widened, "You know you love me, sir."

If Bari's voice were any drier, he'd sound like Avon, "He's also without shame and any medication at the moment."

Vila said, "It's good to finally know all of your names." They seemed more like very muscular people now rather than just nameless soldiers. "Maybe we can do something together."

Dain said, "Is this because of Innes, s…Vila?"

Vila regarded at him hesitantly, "To be honest…yes. I should've asked all of you before this. I mean, we've worked together for months now. We're not strangers. We should get to know each other."

Dain nodded, "That's appreciated, Vila. We should get to know you as well."

Vila asked him slyly, "Do any of you know how to play poker?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Thirty-Five

Few people could irritate Sester as effectively as the woman standing in his cabin. The room was electric with tension as he asked in a heated voice, "Are y_ou_ are trying to give _me_ conditions even though I'm trying to _help_?"

Sester had no idea why he was raising his voice but Kirsten seemed to bring out the worst in him.

Kirsten shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose that means no?"

Sester's tight nerves were being stretched to the snapping point. "Stop doing that!"

A faint, quizzical smile curved Kirsten's mouth at his outburst and her voice remained calm and reasonable. "Stop doing what?"

"_You tell me._"

"_That's_ interesting." Kirsten tilted her head to study him and her face became intent.

"What's interesting?!_"_

"You don't know." She seemed to be making the remark to herself and was ignoring his outburst.

Sester couldn't understand why he had no idea what she was talking about. This was _very aggravating_. "What's so interesting about you annoying me to death?"

"To death? Isn't that a bit extreme for what I'm doing?"

"Ha! So you admit you _are_ doing something." Ha? Why was he acting like this? It was all Kirsten's fault.

"Of course. That's one of the key foundations of our relationship." She spoke as if it was an accepted fact between them. This was too much.

"Relationship? What relationship?! We do not have any relationship other than teacher and student."

"And don't forget annoyer and annoyee."

"Annoyee? That's not even a word!" _I have to stop shouting. Sometime in the next few minutes would be good. _Of course that meant he had to regain control of himself, which was not easy with _her_ in the room.

"It should be."

She was creating her own words now? Soon she would be kicking him out of his cabin. He liked his cabin. "Can you leave…please?" Sester had no idea why it came out in a plea. This was embarrassing.

"Have you decided that you're going to meet my condition?"

Until she mentioned it, Sester had almost forgotten what had started the argument in the first place. "Never!"

"You don't know what it is yet."

"I do not operate under threats."

"Denying it won't change the inevitable. As a game player you should know that."

"Denying what? What are you talking about?"

Kirsten said, "Can you stop shouting? We are in the same room."

"I wouldn't have to shout if you were being reasonable."

"Well, if the reason is yours, you should be able to see why."

Sester's voice threatened to rise to shouting level again. "Are you saying that I'm being unreasonable because I'm not meeting your demands?"

"If I meant that, I would have said it."

Sester was thoroughly confused. "What…are we talking about?"

Suddenly he was aware of Kirsten standing close to him and he had no idea how it had happened. Heat radiated from her body and warmed his exposed flesh, penetrating to the place of frustration. The vague hint of flowers tickled his nostrils, producing a pleasant sensation that his mind didn't want to associate with her. Unconsciously, he moved closer and breathed in deeply, allowing her scent to flood his senses.

Kirsten was a dangerous woman who got under his skin and made him lose control. Reya had this effect on him too but not intentionally. Kirsten was doing this deliberately, he was almost certain of it. He needed to possess this threat, to surround it and to feel the vibrant energy that threatened to burn him. She was aggravating and exciting and he was teetering on the knife edge of desire and antagonism. He couldn't help himself. His voice was low and husky. "It's all your fault."

The soft smile on her face touched her eyes. It had the effect of moonlight reflecting on water. "It was a joint effort."

_Joint effort? _It was an odd statement that set his brain working. For the first time in their confrontations, Sester knew what was in her mind. He bent forward slowly, pausing as their lips almost touched. He needed to kiss her, to feel the heat of her flesh on his, but his mind had regained some control and his pride made him refuse to make the next move. _It was a joint effort. You were very clever. And I…have been a fool. _He said with reluctant admiration, "You're very good."

"Is that your professional opinion?"

The curve of her lips was almost irresistible, like the soft petals of a rose opening invitingly. "Don't spoil this."

"Do you think I'm going to?"

"Are you?"

"You don't know." Again this was an interested statement, not a question.

"You like that, don't you? You like to keep me guessing."

Kirsten said softly into his ear, "You've stopped shouting."

There was a light grin on Sester's lips. "It's _not_ because you're being reasonable."

"It's because _you're_ being predictable."

He needed to remain in control of the situation. Sester began a count in his head. "I'm not going to let you do this to me."

"Do you want me to go?"

This was a blatant challenge but she was not the only one who could play games. "You're getting impatient?"

"I can wait if you can."

Sester's body tensed, he was not about to let her gain the upper hand. "It appears we both can." He took a step back and nearly shivered. It seemed much colder without the energy of her body warming his.

Kirsten smiled and turned to go but he held her back with a hand on her arm. "Wait."

"I will follow your directions."

"But…what about your condition?"

"You already knew I would even without the condition, didn't you?"

Sester had the sinking feeling that she had outmanoeuvred him again. He wanted to kick himself. "I did."

"Is there anything else you wanted to know before I go?"

He grumbled with ill humour, "Why don't you tell me?"

She flashed him a quick grin. "I had better go."

This time she made it to the door before he said, "Kirsten."

"Yes?"

"Be careful down there. There are rules, but rules…"

She completed his thought, "…are made to be broken?"

"Discretely."

Their eyes were locked on each other as Kirsten came back towards him. "You're not going to wish me luck?"

"You don't need luck."

Kirsten's eyes softened and she kissed him lightly on the lips. "Thank you. You're very good too."

He wanted more than this teasing gesture but he remembered his boast that he could wait. "This isn't going to change anything."

"I know." She kissed him one more time before leaving. "Good night, Charles."

It wasn't until the door closed that Sester realized what she had called him.

**********

The women were down on the planet, setting up for the next Challenge and Vila was looking forward to it. The rules made it sound like a childhood game he played in the Delta grids. Capture the Flag complete with stun guns and picturesque landscape of forests and hills, not the cramped and dirty industrial sites that he and his mates used to play in.

Why did the contest have to start at night anyway? It wasn't as if they could do anything in the dark, unless they wanted to break a few limbs and thin out the competition. He wouldn't put it past some of the Chandaran men. It would be something they might do.

Intimidation. That's what it was. Bunch of bullies. He'd run afoul of more than his share, especially as a Delta. He hoped the women wiped the field with them. It'd serve them right.

The broadcasts wouldn't even start until daybreak. All he had to look forward to tonight was lots of nothing, with a side of boredom to chase it down. He yawned loudly and randomly pushed a few buttons on his flight panel. Night shifts were designed by masochists.

Avon glanced over and said, without raising his head from his analysis, "Don't shoot anything."

"Eh?"

"Don't you have anything better to do? If possible, something that will not plunge us into a Sector-wide war?"

What Vila really wanted to do was anything with Corinne. Not stuck on a dull shift with someone who found staring at inanimate objects, more fun that talking with real people. "I have lots of things to do but I'm stuck here. With you. It must be my lucky day."

At his grumpy, sarcastic tone, Avon turned to look at him. "Have you had a fight with Corinne?"

"Why'd you think that?"

Avon realized he had misjudged the source of Vila's mood. Vila wasn't as insecure in his relationship with Corinne as Argus was with the Commander. "No reason." He turned back to what he was doing.

Vila watched him with curiosity. Avon had made a brief attempt to understand what was bothering him. It couldn't have been Cally's suggestion, she was nowhere in sight. That meant that he might be open to a little social interaction. Probably very little, but it was better than nothing. This might prove interesting.

Of course, Vila's only problem at the moment was a bout of terminal boredom. Hardly something that would interest Avon. He didn't relish another impromptu lecture on anything remotely related to science or technology either. It was better to stay away from those topics altogether. Avon might find it fascinating, but to him it was duller than a Dentrigarian snail race.

"Why do you think they started the contest at night?" That should be fairly safe. He crossed over to the couches and sat down.

Avon's jaw tightened in irritation at the constant and pointless interruptions. He was in the middle of an important piece of analysis. If he stopped now, the complexity would mean he would have to start over again.

"Avon?"

Avon knew that Vila was not the kind of man who would accept work as a reason not to be sociable. He also appeared to be in a bad mood. It wasn't a personally important detail to Avon, he never considered his own emotional state relevant, but it would be the kind of factor that would reduce Vila's efficiency. He pushed his chair back from the desk. "There are any number of reasons."

"Well, let's hear a few." He wriggled himself into a more comfortable position and stretched out his legs.

Avon's eyes narrowed, "Is this a serious discussion or are you bored?"

Vila asked in his most innocent voice, "Now Avon, would I waste your time?"

"Constantly."

"Alright, why don't we try a different topic? One that we both like."

Avon's brows rose, "Such as?"

There was a subject that Vila had been meaning to talk to Avon about but hadn't found time to. "Avon, do you remember much about the Academy?"

Avon tensed. "I thought this would be a topic we would 'both like'?"

"I know what I said." Vila wondered if this was such a good idea but he'd already said it. "It's important. For both of us."

"It's the past."

"Don't you wish we had a time machine and could go back and change things? Then I wouldn't have lost my mum and they wouldn't have done what they did to you? And Argus would never have had to kill anyone?"

"Wishes belong to the realm of fantasy, not reality."

"Reality's not all it's cracked up to be."

"It never is, but it's all we have. I prefer to concentrate my energies on doing something useful."

Vila sighed. "I'm not like you."

"That's evident."

"Most of the time, as a Delta, dreams and fantasy were all we had to look forward to. I suppose you never knew what that was like. I mean, I know what they did to you but you were still an Alpha. You had all the privileges." Bitterness and resentment welled up and reminded Vila why he had tried to rise above his station in life. He hated that others assumed that they had the right to boss him around just because he was a Delta.

Vila had never expressed such strong feelings about being a Delta before with Avon. Avon had always known the fact of the grading system and its level of privileges. He had observed the attitudes of the lower grades before but he had never been so close to the bitterness and resentment that he could almost feel it himself. "Don't be a fool."

"I'm a fool to think that you'd understand. You're an Alpha. You don't have to understand, do you? You're all alike."

"You _are_ a fool," said Avon.

Vila snapped at him, "And you're a snob."

"Is this going to descend to a shouting match? I don't have the time to waste on such a pointless activity just because you're bored."

"Fine! I don't have time for you either." Vila stood up angrily and went back to his station. He was fuming and started jabbing away at his panel.

Avon wasn't sure what had just happened. How did an attempt at conversation become a pitched verbal battle? Vila had been in a bad mood before and now it was even worse. It appeared that they both had past issues to deal with. Their attempt to talk had dredged up some old and deeply ingrained negative feelings for Vila. Avon hated these relational complexities. It was much easier to understand computers that were not motivated by irrational feelings.

He knew what Cally would say in this instance. It was invariably her advice when he came into conflict with someone else. Deal with it now. That was easier said than done, at least for someone for whom this wasn't instinctive. He had made a commitment to their relationship, he had to try. A little hope might be in order.

"Perhaps 'fool' was the wrong choice of word for what I was trying to convey."

Vila was in a very foul mood. Wild horses would have to drag him out of it. He said with sarcastic anger, "Why? We're all fools to you."

"I'm trying to explain."

"Apology not accepted. Go back to staring at your computers. They're more important to you."

Avon got up from his seat and went over to stand by Vila. Vila glared at him. "Functionally, the computers are more important, but not in a personal sense."

"I knew it. They _are_ more important to you." He was about to take his anger out on a button on his panel when he paused and asked, "Wait a minute…what was that last bit?"

"Friends are not functionally significant but they are necessary."

Vila straightened up and leaned towards him. "Did you just say that I'm important to you? Or did I miss something?"

"For once, you haven't."

Vila grinned. "You're not functionally significant to me either."

Avon eyebrows rose in incredulous disbelief, "No?"

"Well…not most of the time. I have to admit, you're handy…with a broken food dispenser. And not to mention, cleaning appliances." Vila smirked.

"I suppose I should feel flattered," Avon said flatly.

"There's nothing more important than food. And friends."

They stared at each other; deep, mysterious eyes and encouraging eyes that contained laughter.

"Avon, you said that you were trying to explain something before?"

"Deltas were not the only ones to be oppressed by the Federation."

"You're talking about the Alphas? How could that be? You have everything. Power. Wealth. All of it."

Avon's throat tightened. "Everything except our lives. Without that, everything else is an illusion."

"I don't understand."

"Not all Alphas are created equal. Some are more equal than others."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"You should understand. You have more memories of the Academy than I do."

Vila's eyes widened in shocked comprehension. "I…never thought of it that way. You mean, it was always like that for you?"

"My mind was valuable and they needed it to perform to specifications. Having a will beyond theirs was not within acceptable parameters."

Vila shivered. "That sounds like a machine."

"I was a machine to them."

Vila remembered something, he had accused Avon of being that once. There seemed to be a flicker of pain in Avon's eyes that day, but Vila had dismissed it as Avon lashed out at him with words. How could a machine have any feelings? "I don't know if you remember but I called you a machine once. I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did."

Vila nodded. "I don't anymore."

"That's good to know."

"Avon, when I got caught for stealing, they sent me to penal colonies. Juvenile and low grade ones at first. They tried to condition us. I thought it was to stop me from stealing but you said that it was to make me more afraid and more easily led."

"That was their goal with the Deltas, to keep them subservient. It only succeeded partially with you. That would explain your inconsistent behaviour."

"Is that what they did to you?"

Avon's eyes took on a faraway look. "They couldn't afford the same type of conditioning. The tendency to rebel against accepted thinking was connected to my ability to overcome problems that no one else could. They could not afford to tamper with that. There were…special rehabilitation clinics, similar to the ones they have for Federation officers. They suppressed areas of my mind that weren't considered useful and accentuated others. All of my creative and reasoning abilities were focused on specific areas. However, as with you, they were only partially successful. The tendency to rebel worked against them in the end."

"You could never stand fools."

"Quite."

"Avon, do you think you could build a time machine?"

"Fantasy again?"

"Well, a clever man like you…who can fix problems no one else can…"

"Theoretically, it might be possible. The Federation's time distort technology is a crude attempt at multidimensional manipulation, but we are far from time travel."

"Wow. I was just kidding but if you think it's possible…"

"Not within our lifetimes."

"That puts a damper on things."

"Fortunately."

"But if we can go back and change the past..."

"Then so can the Federation. What do you think the Federation would do with time travel technology?"

"Oh." Then Vila's eyes opened wide. "Ooooh. That wouldn't be good. Now you have me worried."

"That's surprising," said Avon with light sarcasm.

"Doesn't it worry you?"

"Worrying about things you can't do anything about, accomplishes nothing."

Vila was about to say something snarky about Avon's attitude but then Avon's tone made him suspicious. "Avon, what about things you can do something about?"

Avon's lips curled in a lopsided smile and his eyes brightened. "I acted."

"You said, acted? Avon, what did you do?"

"When Servalan…" He had a brief flash of anger at the mention of his enemy's name. "…had me working for her. I was involved on numerous projects. I…" Avon rubbed his wrist with nervous tension. "…did what she demanded, but not what she wanted. I made advances in technology but not to the extent that I could have. Some of those areas dealt with time distort technology."

"You sabotaged them?"

"I pointed their advances to directions that would not increase their understanding of dimensional manipulation."

"You did sabotage them! That's brilliant!"

"Indirectly. Assuming, of course, that other scientists do not make these advances on their own."

"How long will it take for them to achieve time travel."

Avon grinned. "Long enough. I'm keeping a close eye on any advances in this area."

"Good." Vila hadn't felt this comfortable talking with Avon in a long time, not since they shared those bottles of wine. "Avon, how much do you remember about the Academy?"

Avon started at the abrupt change in topic. "I have vague recollections." There was an ache in his head, it happened whenever he tried to push past the memory blocks, but he ignored it.

"I remember you, at least some of you. We got on well. We used to talk and joke."

"I don't remember."

"Oh."

Avon could see the disappointment on Vila's face. "I remember you as a child."

"You do? But I thought you said you didn't remember anything?"

"I don't remember specific details but…" This was something that Avon didn't fully understand but it was something he was sure of. "…I remember…I have an impression of our relationship."

"D'you want me to tell you what I remember?"

The ache was threatening to become a full-fledged headache but Avon refused to let it take control. "Tell me."

Thirty-Six

The women for the Second Challenge were huddled together in the dark, surrounded by towering trees and wild grasses rustling in the wind. They had each been processed before coming down. That meant being passed through matter scanners to make sure they didn't bring anything 'illegal' onto the Challenge field. Their wine-red jumpsuits and matching darker jackets had been provided by the Chandarans, giving them a military sameness. The only equipment they were allowed were a stun gun, a bottle of water, a direction finder and a long knife each. Nearby on a wooden pole was the flag that they were to protect at all costs. The enemy, or rather their opponents, would have a similar setup on their side, except in blue.

They spoke in hushed whispers even though no one could hear them. The men would have been dropped several miles away. Even at a dash, they wouldn't be here yet, assuming they would risk travelling in the dark through the forest and over a hill, on unfamiliar ground.

Kirsten said, "One of these days someone is going to explain to me why women always have to be red." She looked at the cuff edge that stuck beyond her jacket sleeve and then at the flag. No one had told them that the two would be the same colour. It wasn't as if they needed different colours to be able to tell who the opposition was.

Sentha rubbed her arms to bring some warmth into her limbs while some of the others wrapped their arms around themselves. Even with jackets zipped all the way up, the night air chilled their bones. "It's always been that way. There's no why. It just is."

Kirsten said, "You mean, the way we've always been told that we can't do the things we have been doing the past month, just because we're women?" There was a thoughtful look in her eyes as she said absently, "There has to be a why."

Sentha blew warm air into her cupped hands. "Is this important? I'm cold."

Kirsten passed her eyes over the shivering group. In the dim moonlight, some of ones on the far side of the circle were little more than human shaped shadows in jackets. "You're right. We should get moving."

A lonely howl filled the night air and seemed to echo around them.

The women gasped in alarm. They looked around nervously at the suddenly threatening shadows that seemed to encircle them. Tamara, a woman with a shock of red hair asked with trepidation, "W..w…what was that?"

Kirsten said, "It must be an animal."

All thoughts of how cold they were, was forgotten as several of them asked with voices rising in panic, "An animal?"

Zurrie, the tallest one in their group asked in a voice that was perpetually scratchy, "D'you think there's more than one?"

That idea made them all even more nervous as they tried to pierce the gloomy darkness with anxious eyes.

Kirsten said, "I imagine so. We _are_ in the forest. Some of the men like to hunt. My father does."

Tamara said, "They put us in a place with dangerous, wild animals? It wasn't like this when we were training."

Most of the women nodded their agreements. This was a rude awakening for them. They had all been confident in what they had been taught and sure that they could face anything. Part of their education had been on the planet in similar situations but they had never been on their own before, without the support of experienced trainers. They felt abandoned, alone and surrounded by dangers on every side.

Kirsten had to admit that she was unnerved too but she wasn't about to show it. All the training had taught her one important thing. Her most dangerous weapon was her mind, as long as she didn't let external factors such as fear control her. Sester had been an invaluable teacher. Just observing him had been a revelation. He was unlike the Tellaran psychostrategists, he was not only brilliant, but also a ruthless strategist.

He was also a gifted manipulator. She had recognized a kindred spirit the first time she had seen him doing his tea duties in the cargo hold.

Most of her life, Kirsten had been able to influence the people around her. Mainly men like her father. It was something natural that she had needed to do in order to survive and maintain some semblance of a life that would not entirely crush her spirit. Kirsten had never understood what she was doing until she saw the psychostrategists and they had taught the women to understand their own situation and society. There was a name for the gifts and abilities that she had always used. Of course, she wasn't as good as a trained psychostrategist. She didn't have the education or a full understanding of what was possible. Kirsten wanted to learn, even if only to increase her ability to protect herself.

She shook herself mentally. It was time to act and to win, not think about life in general. Kirsten wanted to succeed. Sester said that it was possible and had shown her what she needed to do. However, as he had said, they wouldn't know all the details until they got to the playing field. She had to be observant and flexible, be able to identify additional possibilities. There were several new ones already. Ones that might prove even more effective in winning this contest.

Kirsten composed herself, her face conveying confidence and determination. She was the leader, the others looked to her for direction and support. They could win this, as long as they didn't let fear of the unknown get to them.

Sentha eyed their unconcerned-looking leader. "You're a cool one. Why aren't you nervous like the rest of us? You were city bred too."

" I'm nervous too but this contest is supposed to be safe. That's why they gave us these." Kirsten slipped her pistol out of its holster. "If these can stun a man, I imagine they shouldn't have many problems with an animal. We should be safe as long as we keep our heads."

The ever sceptical Sentha said, "Won't that make a lot of noise?"

Kirsten said, "That alone should scare any animals away even if we don't hit them. Just don't hit each other."

Some of the women had their pistols out and pointed outwards at the unknown dangers. Tamara gripped hers tightly. "But the men will hear it too, won't they? Even from far away?"

Kirsten said, "It doesn't matter. They know we're here already and approximately where we are. It might do them good to think that we're scared and panicking."

Tamara said, "But we _are_ scared."

"But we are _not_ panicking." With smooth, confident movements, Kirsten secured her gun and looked slowly around the circle of women, meeting their eyes intently. " Are we? We've come too far and we have too much to lose to beat ourselves before we even begin. Courage is about being scared but still deciding to go on. That's true courage. We all have it. That's why we're here. Not one of us dropped out during the training even though we could have gone back to our own homes and our old lives. The other group didn't give up. They fought and they did well. Let's show everyone that we can do it too. I don't want to be the one to let everyone down."

Sentha said, "Who said we're going to let anyone down? But you're right. We're all here because we decided to stay. I never thought I would…I'm more surprised than any of you that I did, but the people on the ship showed me something…that our society is wrong about women. I _like_ being able to do the things I've learned. It makes me feel good about myself. I…don't want to lose it. And if it means that I have to fight the men or animals, then I'm going to."

Zurrie said, "I'm scared but I don't want to go back to my old life either."

There were murmurings of agreement from the others.

Kirsten said, "Good. We'll set guards to watch for animals…and the men."

There was still fear on the faces of the women but there was also determination. Zurrie asked, "Do you think the men will come at night?"

Kirsten was working on information that Sester had told her, she trusted his abilities. "They won't but it's always good to be prepared for anything. I know what we planned originally but I have a few new ideas that might help."

Sentha asked, "What ideas?"

After Kirsten told them what she was thinking, she said, "I'm afraid we're not going to get much sleep tonight. We have a lot to do. We'll try to work in shifts so we can get some rest. Sentha, I was going to…"

Sentha said, "I'll lead the other group. You're needed here to set things up."

Kirsten put her hand on the woman's shoulder in appreciation. "I know it's going to be rough going but they won't be expecting it."

Sentha said, "Then they won't be guarding against it, will they?"

"That's what I'm hoping for. And they won't be expecting what we're going to do on this end either."

Zurrie asked, "Are you sure it won't break the rules?"

"I've studied them carefully. There isn't anything that specifically says that we can't do this." Kirsten had the rules memorized. She ran over them quickly. " We can use any non-lethal method to obtain the flag of the opposing team before the allotted time has expired. And we are not allowed to move the flag or to cover it in any way."

Zurrie said, "It sounds alright."

Sentha said, "Well, let's hope it sounds alright to the judges once we're finished."

**********

Cally reached over and checked the chronometer next to the bed. She sighed and reached out with her mind. *_ Avon, are you going to be much longer? _*

The response was immediate. *_ I need you to come to the flight deck, Cally. _* His mental voice seemed weaker, an indication of the what she already knew, he was tired and his body and mind were suffering the effects.

*_ Avon, is this an attempt to stall so that you can continue working for a few more minutes? _*

There was a long pause. * _I do need you here. I have also contacted the others._ *

Cally bolted upright. *_ Avon, is something wrong? _*

*_ There is nothing wrong but I need you to come to the flight deck. I will explain it then. _*

*_ Alright, Avon. _*

Cally pulled on a dressing gown and rushed out.

**********

When she arrived, Argus, Reya and Sester had joined Avon and Vila around the computer terminal.

She asked, "What's the urgency?"

Argus also seemed to have come in a hurry. He was bare-chested and only wore a pair of loose-fitting trousers. "Avon's found something. There appears to be a meeting planned during the main part of the Challenge tomorrow. They're using it as a distraction."

Avon had looked up when Cally arrived and his eyes followed her as she came towards them. "We need to know what is said in the meeting. It may reveal more about their plans."

"You want my team to go down tomorrow?"

Argus said, "Yes. The location they've chosen is a shielded building so we can't rely on the relay devices and we can't teleport you directly to the location."

Avon pressed several keys in front of him. "With our mental connection, we will still be able to maintain contact. This is a schematic of the building."

Cally came around to take a look at the location. It was a secure industrial office complex. "Is there anything I should watch out for?"

Argus said, "There shouldn't be much people traffic during the Challenge, most of them should be busy watching. Vila, how are the locks and security system?"

Vila had been looking at the schematics since Avon discovered that there would be a meeting. "They're paranoid about security but it's nothing I can't handle. I'll have to take down some special equipment."

Avon said, "I will handle the security monitors and the identity sensors."

Sester was sitting at the edge of a nearby table. "What kind of industrial complex is this?"

Avon turned in his direction. "It's a research facility for land-based military vehicles."

Sester tapped the edge of the table. "They're too highly placed for comfort. I would suspect that there will more people traffic than you expect."

Argus asked dubiously, "How do you know that?"

"Do you want the technical explanation?"

"The short version," Argus said curtly.

Sester grinned. "I'll try to put it in simple words."

Argus tried not to glare too hard at the man.

Sester remained seated and traced the edge of the table, "They picked a location that is protected by high-level security and an energy screen. That means they're highly placed and there are enough of them in this facility that they do not consider it a risk meeting here."

Avon mused thoughtfully, "They picked a location that is shielded from communication access and our teleport. Is that a coincidence or do you think they know we're actively searching for them?"

Sester asked, "You're afraid they know that you've gained access to their computer network?"

This would be disturbing. It would mean that Avon couldn't rely on the information that he'd obtained from their computer activity. "Have they?"

"It's a possibility."

Argus said instantly, "Then it might be a trap."

Sester nodded. "Also another possibility."

Argus's mind was sharp and in overdrive as he took this new information into account. "You'll need more support, Cally. I'll divert one of the Athol units and I'll bring down the reserve unit. Reya, you're on your own with the Challenge."

Reya said, "That should be fine."

Cally was working with Avon to find the best way through the building and to identify escape routes. "I'll bring down a vid unit to record the meeting. Assuming that it's just a meeting."

Argus said, "Good idea, Cally. Since the relays won't work through the barrier, we still need to identify the participants."

Sester wasn't finished. "Even if it is just a meeting and there's no trap, you should still expect increased traffic."

Cally asked, "Why is that?"

"If there are as many aliens in this facility as I suspect, they won't be as interested in watching the Challenge as the native Chandarans."

Argus said with dismay, "I hadn't thought of that."

Sester suppressed a smile. "That's why I'm here."

Argus had a faint look of irritation. "Avon, can I assume comm equipment will work within the facility?"

"That's hard to tell. There's nothing on the building plans to indicate jamming equipment and our sensors cannot penetrate the facility."

"Then it's a good thing we have you and Cally. You can provide the link if the comms don't work. My team will provide support inside the building but we will stay hidden unless you contact us, Cally. Avon, you coordinate things up here."

Avon said, "I'm coming down with you."

Argus looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"You need me to handle the security monitors and the identity sensors."

Argus said carefully, "We can bring down one of the engineers."

"They will not be able to handle this level of security. Only I can do that."

"Avon…"

"You cannot get in undetected without me. Do you want the information from this meeting?"

Argus grimaced. "Alright. But I'll be coming with you."

"If you can keep up."

Argus sighed in resignation. "That's what I'm afraid of."

**********

General Borel Reve was deep in thought and looking outside his window. Beyond was a bright sunny day but in his mood, everything seemed overcast and grim. He looked at least ten years older than he was and he felt even older these days.

A chime on his desk called for his attention. He reached back and hit the comm button. "What is it?"

"The Chamberlain is here, General."

"Send him in."

The young general straightened his already straight back and turned to face the door. His father's old Chamberlain always demanded a great deal of respect.

Borel tried to contain his shock as Olean Rane came in. The man looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. Age and stress lined his face and his eyes were blood-shot. There was a sheen of sweat on his brow.

Rane saluted. "General."

Borel said, "Don't do that. I always feel like I should be saluting you. Please sit down."

The Chamberlain sat down like a man suffering from severe joint pain. "I only outrank you in age, General. And no comments about my appearance. I know I look terrible."

Borel smiled wryly. "I wouldn't dream of it. How are your investigations going? I'm assuming that's why you're here?"

"It's not going well. Whoever is behind the Shade, knows how we work and has been able to stay one-step ahead of us. The spread among the population is growing to epidemic proportions. Every time we shut down one channel, two more spring up." Rane hit the arm of his chair in anger and frustration. "We need more units."

"You'll have them. Just let me know what you need. I've also contacted Reya. I thought her people might be able to help."

Rane nodded his approval. "That might be what we need. If the opposition can guess what we're going to do, we need fresh eyes and new strategies."

"Unfortunately, they're in the middle of their own crisis. But Reya's promised they'll come the moment they're finished."

"They might need to come sooner." Rane clenched his fists. "I…don't know how much longer I'll be able to help."

At his anguished voice, Borel looked at him in alarm. Rane was not only older and tired, he looked pale and ill. His fingers tremored when he wasn't resting them on the sides of the chair. Borel asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"What's wrong?" the young general asked with concern.

Rane wasn't just ill; there was something seriously wrong with him. "That's the real reason why I came today. To warn you. I have Shade poisoning."

Borel's eyes shot wide open and he leaned forward in shock. "How is that possible?" Shade poisoning was a severe form of Shade addiction. It took a long time for users to get to this stage and only if you took large quantities of it. Once you had Shade poisoning, without regular concentrated doses, the sufferer would die a painful death. "I thought…it took years of abuse to get Shade poisoning?"

"I collapsed several days ago and was rushed to Healer Garrett. He discovered that it was Shade poisoning. Somehow they've developed a form of Shade that acts like a poison." Rane's breathing was shallow and raspy, as if inhaling was painful.

This was the last thing Borel wanted to hear. "This is very disturbing." The Chamberlain had always seemed indestructible. To see him human and vulnerable was a shock. "Is there a cure?"

"There is no antidote, except Shade itself. Garrett has a team working on it but he's not optimistic. He says the poison changes the body's metabolism on a genetic level. It's technology that he's never seen before."

Borel's military mind struggled for a solution. "They have to have an antidote or some way to counteract it. There has to be another way. I'll bring in the troops. We'll _force_ them to give us the antidote."

"If I knew where their base of operations was, I would have already done that."

"Of course…sorry, Chamberlain."

"Rane. Your father always called me Rane."

"That's why I can't."

Rane inclined his head in remembrance. "I miss your father. Those were simpler days. The enemy was ruthless, but at least they were honourable. Not like these…criminals."

Borel still had mixed feelings about the hard man who had been his father but he had always loved him. "I miss him too. I'll call you Rane if you stop calling me General, at least when we're alone."

Rane looked at him speculatively. Of the three Reve sons, Borel was the least like his father in appearance. He was not as big and imposing as the others were and the strong Reve jaw was not as prominent. One thing he did share in common with his father was his skill as a military strategist. "Your father would have been proud of you."

"He had a funny way of not showing it." There was a light, joking bitterness in his voice.

"He thought he knew what was best for you but when you defied him…and your sister stood with you…"

"It didn't endear me to him. I know. I will not have anything bad said about Reya. Without her, I wouldn't be what I am today. She risked a great deal for me."

"You won't hear anything negative from me. I respect your sister. She's a strong, intelligent woman. If she had been a man…"

"Don't let her hear you say that."

Rane's lips curled in a smile but he started coughing. He put his hand to his chest and tried to relax as his breathing came in gasps.

Borel made a move to get up. "Are you alright?"

Rane waved him off. "It's getting worse. I haven't been taking the full dose."

"You have to. If you don't…" It explained why Rane looked this bad.

"I know what is happening, but with a full dose, I can't think clearly. I won't be able to continue leading the fight."

"We can get someone else to do that. You have to take care of yourself until we find the antidote."

"There isn't one, Borel. You have to face it. And as long as I have breath, I will use it to fight for our people. I will not let these criminals beat me. And you can't stop me."

"You were always a stubborn old soldier. My father's best. I don't want to lose you but as you pointed out, I can't stop you. Is there anything I can do?"

"Promise me that you won't bring in military force. It will only make matters worse. They might stop Shade distribution as retaliation."

Borel grimaced. "How much of our population would be affected?"

"Too many." There was a look of tight anger and disgust on Rane's face. "Shade addiction is permanent but its effects are tempting."

Borel's voice rose in anger, "And now they're using it as a weapon against you."

"They haven't contacted me yet but I expect it won't be long."

**********

At first light, the men sent most of their team to the women's encampment to take their flag. They arrived at a steady, relaxed jog and stopped within a stone's throw of the clearing. They couldn't see the clearing yet and no women were in sight. Confidence made them cocky and they were sure they'd be able to get the flag. Most had visions of a nice hot breakfast with all the trimmings after the contest ended. With twenty men at the peak of their physical conditions, they didn't expect much in terms of serious opposition. Not to mention there had been sporadic and frantic bursts of weapons fire from the women during the night. They were obviously spooked and afraid at being out in the scary forest. The men had laughed and settled in for a good night's rest with the music of the women's panic in their ears.

As they prepared themselves and sent a scout out, Brady, the soldier who had fought with Alara, remarked worriedly, "We haven't seen any of them yet."

A soldier with a wide-nose snorted with derision, "They didn't post a guard."

A green-eyed soldier said, "They're probably still asleep. This'll be easy."

Brady said, "I don't know…"

The first soldier said, "Yeah, you wouldn't, would you. If you did, you wouldn't have lost against that woman."

Brady stepped forward and stood toe-to-toe against wide-nose. His voice was an angry snarl, "How about I pound you right now?" Since tying in the fight with Alara, the others on the team had not been treating him very well. He had to defend himself constantly.

The corporal of the group said, "Do this after the contest, or I'll pound both of you."

The men sneered at each other and took a step back.

Wide-nose said, "This isn't over."

Brady said, "Not until I teach you a lesson."

The corporal put his brawny arm out to stop wide-nose from lunging forward. "Do I have to tie both of you up?"

The scout came back. "They're gone."

Everyone turned to stare at him.

The corporal asked, "What do you mean gone?"

The scout said, "There's something else. You're not going to like this."

**********

The men spread out and approached the clearing warily. How could all the women be gone?

Green-eye said, "They must've panicked and ran. There was all that gun fire last night."

The corporal said, "All of them?"

Brady said, "Something must have happened. I can't believe they all ran."

At the clearing, the men stood stunned. There was a sea of red flags on poles.

The scout said, "Like I said, it might not be that easy."

Wide-nose said, "They've lost then. They can't do that."

Brady scanned the field thoughtfully. He felt admiration for the women but he dared not show it on his face. "There isn't anything in the rules to say they can't do this. As long as they didn't move the flag or try to hide it."

Wide-nose waved his hands towards the flags. "What do you call this?"

The corporal rubbed the side of his nose. "They're hiding it in plain sight. We see the flag, we just don't know it." He said reluctantly, "It's…clever."

Green-eye said, "They're devious."

Brady said, "They used their brains because they know they can't fight all of us." He looked around nervously and crouched, "That means they didn't panic and run. They're still…"

The forest around them erupted in stun gun fire. Ten men fell immediately. The corporal was one of the first to be hit as men dove behind trees and began firing back. More men fell as women, hidden in the trees above them began raining more tracers on those who were trying to hide. Less then half the men were still standing as they ran in the only direction where there wasn't any gunfire, the clearing.

Wide-nose shouted, "Grab all the flags! It has to be one of them! Then they'll lose!"

The remnant of soldiers raced for the flags. Muzzles suddenly popped out from the ground and fired at them. The shocked men fell as the first ones ripped the flags from the poles. Brady was the only one left standing as the women broke cover and surrounded him with their guns ready.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Brady spotted the real flag. Its edges were not torn roughly like the other ones.

Kirsten levelled her gun at him and said, "Don't do it. You won't make it."

Brady said, "I know." Even though he admired these women, he was not about to give up without trying his best. He suddenly raced towards the flag, hoping the surprise at such a crazy move would freeze them just long enough. Streams of stun tracers raced towards him and he fell within a meter of his goal.

**********

Avon and Argus teleported down with Cally, Vila and Corinne. As before, the two women were in male disguise. A row of hedges covered their presence as they lay flat on the ground. Avon poked his head briefly over the edge. His voice was whispered. "There are four security cameras in view." He slipped his portable computer out of the case slung across his chest and plugged in the disruptor array. "This will take a few minutes."

Argus and the others kept their eyes covering all directions.

Vila said softly, "What about the cameras we can't see?"

Argus said, "Then we run."

Avon said absently as his fingers danced over the keys, "There are only four at this location unless they've changed the configuration of their security system." He said dryly, "Of course, you could always run. For the exercise."

Argus grinned slightly but retained the hardness and calm of the experienced soldier. "Once we get inside, remember to stick to the plan. Don't let anything divert your attention."

Vila said, "Get in, record the meeting and get out. It's easy."

As they conversed and watched, Cally had her eyes closed and her psi senses stretched to the limit, trying to get the mood and location of the people in the vicinity. She whispered, "There are a lot of people in this building but the majority seem to be gathered in two areas."

Argus said, "Then the meeting's started. We have to get in there. Avon, how are you getting on with the cameras?"

"Another thirty seconds."

Corinne said, "Some of them might be watching the Challenge. I wish I knew how it was going."

Vila said, "Don't worry, I asked Zen to record it for us."

Argus frowned. "You used the ship's computer for personal reasons?"

Vila blanched at the disapproval in Argus's voice. There was no question he was the leader and he would not brook any nonsense. "Well…I thought it'd be alright. Since it's not…entertainment. It's…for training purposes. Yes, that's it. To help the women. Debriefing….and all that."

Argus said in a severe tone and with a straight face, "Don't forget to include me when you watch it. I will bring...the popcorn."

His face was so serious that Vila had to blink for a moment as he registered what the Argus had just said. "Popcorn?"

"I could provide other snacks if you don't like popcorn."

Vila chuckled quietly, "You nearly had me going there. I didn't know you had a sense of humour."

Avon said dryly, "Usually because he is the _source_ of humour. The cameras have been disabled if anyone is interested."

Argus rarely broke his professional demeanour on a mission. He realized he was feeling far too comfortable with this group of people. "Sorry. Let's get going. Side door. Vila the lock is yours."

They jumped the hedge and kept low as they raced to the door. Vila made quick work of the lock and they were able to find the room Avon needed. There were only a few anxious moments as they hid from the people moving inside the building.

Avon cut out a section of the wall using a laser cutter and accessed the optical cables. He began connecting his computer to the building's security system.

Vila said, "I don't like this. There are too many of them out there. Cally, I thought you said that most of them are gathered in two areas?"

Cally still had part of her attention taken by her psi senses. She said distractedly. "The majority. Not all. There will be some activity."

Argus said, "Most of them are wearing white lab uniforms. We need to blend in."

Vila said, "I hope you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

"Well, if you think that I want to steal some lab uniforms then you'd be correct."

"Let me get this right. You want to steal some lab uniforms because it's safer to blend in. But in order to steal the uniforms, we have to go out there, not wearing uniforms?"

Argus said, "You could go out naked."

Avon remarked dryly, "Please don't. The connections are made. I should be ready in twenty minutes."

Argus said, "Perfect. I'll go get the uniforms."

Vila said, "You're going alone?"

"Are you volunteering?"

"Well…it's not that I don't want to…"

Vila saw Avon lift his head slightly to look at him. Was he waiting with a ready barb? That would be just like him. Vila knew it would be a faint hope that Avon was expecting something different. His views of humanity did not contain that kind of optimism.

Vila had to admit that he did have a funny excuse ready at the tip of his tongue. It was just like him. He gathered his shaky courage and said, "I'll go with you."

It was hard to tell but Vila could almost swear that there was a sliver of a smile on Avon's lips before he bent down over the computer again.

Corinne said eagerly, "Me too. I'll go with you."

Vila opened his mouth to say something but Argus said, "Thank you, Corinne but it'll be easier to work with just two of us. You stay here and keep watch."

Corinne sighed with disappointment. Sometimes Vila worried about her. She was far too young and inexperienced to understand the dangers; she needed to be protected.

Before Corinne found a reason why she should go with them, Vila said, "We should go. I mean…if you think so."

Argus said with light amusement, "Yes, sir."

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Argus and Vila weren't back yet with the lab uniforms. Corinne stayed by the door keeping watch as Cally continued using her psi abilities and Avon worked on the security system.

Avon intently tracked the flow of data across his screen. Only slight flares of interest separating the man from the machine that processed information.

Two meeting places. He checked the feeds to see if he could access the gatherings. If he could, then there was no need for Cally to risk the mission.

He grimaced slightly. It was as he had expected. He couldn't find a feed to one of the meeting rooms. It must have been disconnected. Unwanted observers were not welcome. It was a good sign that something was going on in the room. Possibly something alien.

"Cally."

She came over to look over his shoulder.

"This is the most likely location." He showed her the schematic view of the building. "I will position the support unit here." He indicated the spot on the screen. "There are two identity access points but you don't have to worry about them. I will change the records to allow you access." Avon looked up at her. "I won't be able to track you once you enter the room. Keep in close contact."

"You mean like this?" Cally lightly brushed along the edges of his hard consciousness with her mind.

Avon took in a deep breath. "Cally, this is serious." His eyes were intent on an otherwise inexpressive face.

Cally could 'see' the depth of concern that made him want to keep her safe. Hidden behind logic and action was the man she had always known, the one who was capable of more than anyone could understand. Only people who cared deeply were capable of being hurt deeply. Enough to make him want to hide himself forever and never want to care again.

Cally said, "I know. I will contact you every ten minutes while we're in the room."

"That will have to do."

There was a prearranged knock on the door.

**********

At first, Vila was nervous about walking through the hallways boldly and with no attempt to hide, but after passing the third group of people without incident, he began to feel better. No one made mention of the equipment satchel he had slung over his shoulder or demanded if he had any burglary tools hidden on his person. He tugged at the end of his tight-fitting uniform, all white with the triangular crest of the Chandaran Military Research Department. He said with nervous cheerfulness, "These are good. No one's paying any attention to us."

Cally said, "They should be convincing. These are real uniforms that you stole."

Vila kept up his light, meaningless banter. "Borrowed. I don't plan to keep them. They don't match my eyes."

Corinne looked at him with a critical eye. "I think you look good in that uniform."

In Vila's eyes, she always looked beautiful. The white brought out her innocence and cheerful youth. "So do you."

Cally pressed on her teleport bracelet and spoke casually, as if she was talking to Vila and Corinne. "Avon, we're at the adjacent corridor." Keeping the comm button down, she peered around the corner and watched as several people entered the meeting room. Sharp flashes of fear, quickly extinguished, caused her to gasp and pull back quickly.

Vila and Corinne looked at her worriedly and expressed their concerns, "What's wrong?"

Avon's voice responded, "I see that. Are there any guards?"

Cally said, "There are two…Avon, there's something wrong…"

Avon's voice asked sharply, "What is it?"

"I sensed something. It was brief…but strong."

Avon's voice asked, "What did you feel?"

"Fear."

There was a short pause. "We will have to rethink the plan. It's too risky to enter now without knowing what's inside."

Vila said, "Not to mention too dangerous."

Cally said, "We can't pass up this opportunity. What I sensed may not have been from inside the room. It may have originated nearby. You know my psi senses aren't accurate enough to pinpoint exact location and everything seems fine now."

Avon's voice asked, "You're determined to go inside?"

Cally said, "I don't see that we have a choice. We have to find out what's going on."

Vila said, "I have a very bad feeling about this."

Cally said, "You always do."

Corinne said, "Cally, maybe we should watch a little longer."

Vila said, "She's right, we should wait. If…" His mind worked quickly to think of something. "…the next group goes in and you don't feel anything bad, _then_ we go in."

Cally said, "The longer we stay here, the greater the risk that one of the groups will be discovered."

Vila pointed out, "It's even more dangerous going in blind. Then they'll know right away."

Avon's voice said, "Vila is right. You should wait and observe the next group."

Vila always found it surprising when Avon agreed with him. It made him feel good.

It didn't take too long. There seemed to be a lot of traffic going in and out of the room. Unfortunately, from their angle, they couldn't see very far inside the room.

Vila whispered, "There's another group."

They watched anxiously as the bored guards opened the door without giving them a second glance. The group entered.

Cally concentrated as Vila watched her face carefully. Her eyes always had a far away look when she was reaching out with her mind. "Anything?"

Cally shook her head. "Nothing. It appears to be fine."

Vila looked disappointed. He knew that she would want to go in now.

Cally contacted Avon. "Avon, the next group has gone in without incident."

There was a long pause before Avon's voice said, "Very well but contact me every two minutes."

Vila said, "I don't suppose you'd consider waiting for another group? Just to make sure?"

Cally said, "You can if you want, but I'm going inside." She rounded the corner and headed towards the door to the meeting room.

Vila muttered under his breath as he and Corinne followed, "I knew you were going to say that."

**********

Argus kept watch at the door as Avon talked to Cally and her team. The tension on the other man's face told him that Avon was worried. It was clear that he didn't want Cally to go inside the meeting room but he would not go against her wishes.

Argus said, "It's never easy."

Avon took his eyes off the computer screen and stared at him.

Argus knew that anything dealing with Cally was considered very private for Avon. "I know, you'd not rather talk about it. You'd rather die first."

At Avon's continued stare, Argus said jokingly, "Or you would but then you'd have to kill me afterwards."

Avon looked down at his computer again without responding.

Argus sighed. "Or you could ignore me."

Avon suddenly gasped in pain and shouted, "Cally!" His face went pale and his eyes closed tightly as he tried to call out to her with his mind. * _Cally! Are you all right? Cally! _* His heart was racing.

Argus rushed over. "Avon! What's wrong? Avon!" He saw that Avon had his eyes closed and must be trying to contact Cally. Something was obviously wrong. He hit the comm button on his wrist, "Cally. Vila. Report."

There was no response. He tried again. "Cally. Vila. Corinne. This is Argus. Report."

Avon got up abruptly, nearly knocking the computer from the table. There was fierce determination on his face. "It's Cally, she's hurt. I have to go to her." He headed for the door.

Argus stood in his way. "Avon, let me do it. You stay here."

"No. I have to…" Avon tried to brush him off but Argus held out his arms to block him. Avon's voice was chilly. "_Get out of my way_."

"Avon, you know you won't be able to help out there. The best thing you can do for Cally is to control the security system. Without you, we won't be able to get her out. Avon, think! You need to stay here, for Cally."

Avon's logic told him that Argus was right, but his feelings told him he had to go. "I…" His lungs strained, breathing faster with each panicked beat of a heart that he could not keep calm. He swayed on his feet and Argus grabbed him, his arms surrounding his shoulders and guided him back into the chair. "Kerr, I promise, I will bring Cally back to you."

Avon grabbed his arm. "Jack. I can't…" There was pain in his eyes.

Argus's voice was compassionate. "I know. You can't lose her." He could clearly see that in the other man's all too human eyes.

Avon's jaw tightened as he tried to control the pain that was deeper than any physical wound. "Go. I will help from here."

"I'll send someone back for you." Argus rushed out.

*_ Cally, hang on. Help is coming. _*

**********

Argus tried to contact the other teams as he raced towards the meeting room. There was no response from any of them. _Something must be jamming the signals. They know we're here._

He spied a security camera and went up to it. Argus brought his wrist up, tapped the comm button and made a flat signal with his hand. He knew Avon would be watching and controlling the security system. Argus motioned to have the two teams join him outside the meeting room.

**********

The aliens had Vila and Corinne strapped to adjacent frames and were attaching something to their heads when the door slid open. They heard the clunk of metallic objects hitting the ground. Some turned to see what the sound was when the objects exploded with deafening bangs and blinding flashes. Suddenly there was loud shouting from people shapes that rushed into the room. One man's voice was particularly booming, which was a good thing since the explosions had made it difficult for the people in the room to hear anything. "Don't move! Don't anyone move! Keep your hands where we can see them!"

Shots rang out as some of the armed aliens fired wildly at people they couldn't see. Argus and the soldiers returned fire and bodies thudded to the ground.

Argus's voice was low with warning, "Does anyone else want to die?"

Silence was his answer.

Even as he was dealing with the threat, at the corner of his eyes, he saw Cally lying on a table, a nasty wound seeping blood from her abdomen. He said with calm urgency, "Quickly!" Two soldiers lifted Cally carefully from the table while others released Vila and Corinne.

Vila rubbed his eyes and said with loud panic, "I can't see!"

Young Baxter put a supporting arm around Vila's shoulders and said loudly into his ear. "It's alright, sir. It's just a stun grenade. It'll wear off…in a couple of hours."

Vila shouted, "Where's Cor…"

Baxter quickly slapped his hand over Vila's mouth.

"Ow!" Vila complained loudly.

"No names, sir. But she's fine. Please stop shouting." Baxter helped him take a few steps.

Argus said, "Time to go. Everyone out."

As the last soldier cleared the door, Argus threw two more stun grenades before he exited.

**********

Avon appeared on the teleport pad with Lt. Dain at his side. When he saw Argus waiting, he asked harshly, "Where is she?"

Argus's voice was calm and understanding. "She's in the medical unit. The doctors are working on her."

Avon grabbed his collar. "Is she…?"

Argus put his hand on Avon's shoulder. "She's alive. We'll go and see her together."

**********

Sentha crawled towards the clearing. Light rustles told her that the others were slightly behind her. She stopped behind a tree and peered around it.

Five men standing around their flag and talking to each other.

Sentha whispered to the raven-haired woman beside her, "Five of them. Five of us."

Brisa looked at her dubiously. "Do you think this'll work?"

"I'm going to try it. The worse thing that could happen is…"

The woman on the other side of Sentha said, "We'll go back to our old lives." She had a habit of blinking rapidly when she was nervous.

Sentha said fiercely, "Over my dead body."

Brisa said, "I don't know if I can do this. It's going to be…embarrassing."

Sentha said, "Do you want to switch?"

Brisa said reluctantly, "I suppose not. You're better at the sneaking stuff."

"Give me twenty minutes."

Brisa said, "Good luck."

**********

The five men stood around bored, their hands resting lightly on their holsters.

A man with a perpetual squint said, "They should have taken the flag by now."

The corporal standing next to the flag had his pistol out and was aiming down the barrel. "Then they would have told us."

The squinty man said, "Do you think they sent a team to take our flag already?"

The corporal said, "Probably."

A skinny man with a nasal-tone snorted, "Assuming they didn't run into our group on the way."

The corporal said, "Don't be overconfident. Keep your eyes peeled. Even if they are women, you're still soldiers."

The skinny man said, "Yeah, yeah."

Four wild, nearly-naked women came screaming towards them, guns raised but not firing.

The men started forward, their mouths hung open in shock and their eyes bulging. "What the…" Their weapons were pointed hesitantly at this strange sight.

The corporal was the first to recover. Realizing he had left his post, he backed towards the flag and shouted as he squeezed the trigger. "Shoot…." The women started firing at the men. "…them! Shoot them!" Several men were down before the corporal hit one with his shot. A confusion of stun tracers raced in both directions. Men and women fell.

The corporal heard a sound behind him and whirled. Too late. He saw Sentha's smiling face as he fell from her shot. The last thing he saw when he blacked out was Sentha raising the men's flag over her head and yelling in victory.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The doctors worked quickly, stemming the blood loss and repairing the damage to Cally's abdomen. Her face was pale and faint breaths barely lifted her chest. Avon had to strain his eyes to reassure himself that she was still breathing.

Avon was intimately familiar with the kinds of wounds that a body could endure. He _knew_ Cally would survive hers. She was in good hands and the medical facilities were more than adequate but knowledge was cold comfort when Cally was the one hurting.

Without her comforting voice in his head or the light touch of her presence, the space between them seemed a lifeless void. Irrational fear gripped him. He had never realized until now how much she had become a part of him. Even when she wasn't actively projecting to him, he was always _aware_ of her. And now when that awareness was gone, there was a large empty hole inside him.

What had Cally called it? They were connected. Mental threads that joined them together through time and space. He had always considered her words fanciful concepts born of nonsensical romantic notions or Auron mysticism. But the emptiness he felt now told him that he was wrong. His external mask was still in place, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the face of the woman who had become more important to him than his own life. He needed her more than he had ever needed anyone. It wasn't love channelled into logical thought as it had been with Anna. With Cally, he was learning something else. He was breaking the mental chains that bound him to a life of loneliness and empty logic.

A strong male voice reminded him that Argus was standing by his elbow. "Avon, I have to go back down. There were other people in that facility that might need to be saved and I have to inform President Trist."

Avon was half-listening but he felt a strong, supportive hand squeezing his shoulder. The warmth of that touch and the compassion in the voice made Avon turn to stare at him.

"You stay here and take care of her, Avon. Don't worry about anything else. I'll look in on you when I get back." Argus headed for the door.

Rare warmth escaped from the depths that few people were allowed to see and touched Avon's voice as he said sincerely, "Thank you."

Argus turned back to look at him. "You never have to thank me, Avon."

"You called me Kerr earlier."

Argus grimaced as he remembered that Avon had told him not to."Sorry, I wasn't thinking. I know you told me not to."

"It's not that." Avon studied the strong, masculine face before him and recognized the spirit of the boy he had known as Jack. A boy of honour, who would fight to the death for his friends. A gentle giant who could destroy with little effort but who was afraid to hurt anyone. "I call you Jack now."

Argus cocked his head slightly as he wondered where Avon was going with this. "You do sometimes."

"You've never asked why." In a moment of need and shared concern, the two boys had found each other again in the teleport room. Avon had made an unconscious realization about their relationship. He was only beginning to understand it now. It wasn't just Cally that he was connected to.

"No. I never did."

"But you accepted it." Avon could feel it clearly now, the threads that joined them together. They had been friends from the first time they had met at the Academy. No memory blocks could erase what they had been to each other. What had Sester said? Jack had always listened to him.

There was sadness in those eyes now; a man haunted by his own demons. In many ways, their lives had run the same course and one day someone would pay for what had been done to them.

"Yes."

"For me, sentiment has always been a weakness that others have exploited."

Argus sighed sadly. He knew that Avon's scars must run deep. "I'm sorry, Avon."

It was always hard for Avon to admit the human connection that made him vulnerable. "I haven't been easy on you."

Argus grinned lightly. "You wouldn't be Avon if you were."

"You should go. People need saving." There was no sarcasm in his tone. "Don't get yourself shot again."

Argus looked with wonder at this strange man. Avon seemed like several people at once. The cold, calculating man who was barely more than a human machine and the boy to whom caring had not once been something alien and threatening. "I can only try."

"Try harder."

**********

Since the others were all busy saving people, Sester had accompanied Reya down to the planet for the Second Challenge. Since he had played a big role in developing the strategies that were to be used, she couldn't find a good reason to deny him the opportunity. Plus he'd said that he wanted to provide support since she would be alone. Of course, he'd made very clear that he knew that she didn't need any help.

Reya knew that he was manipulating her but she also knew that he was genuinely trying to help. It was hard to refuse him and she wanted to encourage his better impulses so she had relented. As long as he stayed out of trouble and followed her directions. He'd agreed to this instantly, which made her wary. Of course, she was always cautious around him. Even when he was doing something good, there was an element of calculation and deviousness that had to be watched out for. He never did anything with only one purpose in mind.

The official booth to watch the Second Challenge was spacious and well appointed. Two large screens followed each of the groups' activities.

There was outrage when daylight broke and they could see the numerous flags that dotted the women's clearing.

Captain Kegan stood up angrily. "That's illegal! You can't do that."

Reya and Sester had been shocked to see the flags too but they were far too good and controlled to have it show on their faces. Sester's eyes were light with amusement.

Reya said reasonably, "There is nothing in the rules that says that this is illegal."

"But there's only supposed to be one flag! You can't have more than one! How are we supposed to know which one to get?"

Reya said, "That's the point. You don't know. The women have not hidden the flag or moved it. It's still there. Your team can find it if they look."

The judges were having their own discussions as they reviewed the rules.

"We'll see about that!" Kegan stomped over to the judge's panel. "I request a judgement. The women have defaulted the contest by breaking the rules."

The lead judge, Hallam, stood up and faced the assembled audience. "The rules state that challengers are not allowed to cover up the flag or to move it. It has traditionally been interpreted as using a covering in order to conceal the flag or hiding it by moving it. It has never been interpreted as hiding in plain sight because no one has thought of doing this until now. We judge that the women have not broken the rules of the Challenge. But in future, the definition of 'hide' will include this provision. This is our official judgement."

Kegan dared not defy the judges but he snarled at Reya. "They still won't win. The flag is still out there. My men will find it."

Reya kept a smile from appearing on her face. "Assuming that they have the time to."

Kegan was about to say something but he stared hard at the screen. "Where are the women?"

It was Sester's turn to suppress a smile. The women had done very well in setting up the trap. There was no sign of them anywhere. Kirsten still surprised him though. He was certain the idea of the flags had been hers.

They all watched in fascination as the men's group approached the clearing and were just as stunned to find the sea of flags. Then all hell broke loose as the women began firing from their concealed positions. The men dove for cover as they fired back but tracers began raining on them from other women who were hiding in the trees above.

The look on Kegan's face was that of shock and anger.

The men ran towards the clearing, away from the women's trap. They began tearing the flags off the poles when the final trap was sprung and they all went down. The solitary Brady stood alone as women moved to surround him. When he raced towards the real flag, the audience held their breaths. Regardless of whose team they wanted to win, such an act of desperation and courage could not be ignored. There was a sigh of acceptance as he was cut down by the stun guns.

Sester didn't find this very interesting. It was only a confirmation of what he already knew. The Chandarans were transfixed by acts of courage and nobility.

Everyone was on their feet, their faces in shock at what they had just witnessed.

Kegan was not pleased.

Reya said, "Do you find anything in the rules to say they can't do _that_?"

Kegan snarled, "If it weren't for the surprise with the flags, you couldn't have stopped us."

"This is the second time that you've misjudged us. You only have one more chance."

Kegan stepped towards her. "Are you trying to say something?"

She stood relaxed and looked unconcerned at Kegan's posturing. "Are you trying to _do_ something?"

Sester said from behind her, "I wouldn't recommend it. She hasn't had her coffee this morning."

Judge Hallam said in a steely voice, "Stand down, Captain. I will have order."

Kegan backed off and bowed to the judge. "My apologies."

Hallam asked, "Do you have further objections?"

Kegan was grinding his teeth. He obviously had all kinds of objections, but none that would not result in his being removed from the room. "No, sir. But I want it on record that I object to the interpretation of the rules about the flag."

"Duly noted. Now everyone sit down. The contest has not finished."

**********

After the contest had ended and Sentha triumphantly raised the blue standard over her head, Kegan was subdued as he accepted the results from the judges but he directed a dark glare at Reya before he stalked out of the booth.

Judge Hallam approached afterwards. "Congratulations, Champion Reya. Your women acquitted themselves well. They showed good strategy and execution."

"Thank you, Judge Hallam. I wouldn't have thought that you would approve of women participating in the Challenges."

Hallam towered over her but his manner was not aggressive. "You're right. As a man, I do not approve of this contest. But as a past challenger myself, I cannot ignore skill and ability. You're very fortunate."

"I'm aware of that." Her manner was respectful. "You could have judged against us in the flag issue. We did not break the letter of the rules but we did break the spirit of it."

"President Trist chose well then."

There was no change in expression on Hallam's face but Reya realized that he was subtly trying to convey something. "I suppose he did."

"Now, I have a more serious question."

"Yes?"

"What is this coffee?"

**********

Sester and Reya waited at a medical facility for the triumphant women to be transported back from the Challenge field. Basic medical examinations would be provided while others needed to recover from stun shots.

Sester said with light humour, "Kegan doesn't seem to like you."

"The feeling's mutual."

Sester chuckled. "You know…you're very attractive when you're like that. The cold, implacable Champion. A hero and…"

She cut off his attempt at humour, "And someone who can and will knock you senseless if you don't behave."

"Why do you have to do that? It makes you even more…"

Reya snapped, "Stop it."

Sester grinned impishly. "I know you enjoy our interactions. Why deny it?" He had such a fun, teasing tone that Reya almost smiled despite her irritation at his games.

"You like playing with fire, don't you?"

He leaned towards her and his voice became serious. "You know me, Reya."

"I know you like to play dangerous games. You think they're fun because you've never had to pay the price personally."

Sester started. This was one of the reasons why he loved this woman. Unlike him, she was serious, she did not take any nonsense from anyone, especially not from him, and she had a sharp perception that came from truth and not from a lifetime of deviousness and calculation. "I have seen the price."

Reya said, "But not enough of it."

"You think that one day the price will be too much for me? And then I might change?"

"I hope you reach that point long before you find a price that's too steep to be paid."

"You have a great deal of faith in me, Reya." This woman gave him a warm feeling.

"I think you're capable of more than you want people to believe."

"Don't believe the lie, Reya. That's all that I am outside of being a psychostrategist."

"I don't…"

At that moment, the shuttle with the women arrived and everyone rushed to meet the incoming champions.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Forty

The triumph of the women was somewhat subdued after they found out that Cally had been severely injured. They all wanted to go visit her but had been told that she needed rest and quiet. After debriefings by Reya, Argus and Sester, they were all free to relax. The final Challenge would be in three days.

Sester was mildly amused that Kirsten seemed to be ignoring him after she came back. Not that she didn't speak to him. Her debriefing had been informative and completely devoid of personal comments. His attempts to congratulate her and to discuss her strategy with the flags had been politely accepted with a simple thank you and other monosyllabic answers. It was as if all that had gone on between them in the past, the games and innuendos, had happened to two other people.

She couldn't have seen him interacting with Reya. They'd stopped when the shuttle arrived. Though why that thought would trouble him…it wasn't as if they were intimately connected. It was all fun and games and nothing more.

It couldn't be more, could it? He was determined to remain faithful to his feelings for Reya. She was the only one…what was he thinking? Didn't he promise himself that he would get over her? Hadn't he subjected himself to his master's discipline for just that purpose? He had never meant to resolve it by transferring his feelings to someone else. And definitely not Kirsten.

Why was she was always surrounded by a group of chattering women? Why didn't she waylay him like she had done many times before? Every time he rounded a corner or opened his cabin door, he expected to run into her. It was driving him crazy that she wasn't doing what he expected.

**********

Argus rushed back down to the military research facility with several of the Athol teams, hoping to catch the aliens before they were able to clear out and take any evidence with them. The building was virtually empty as they raced through the corridors. There was no need for secrecy, only speed. They burst into the room like a rush of wind, weapons held ready. Unfortunately, there was no one to shoot or capture. Only empty metal frames.

"Damn! How did they get out so quickly? Alright, make a thorough search of the entire facility. Be careful, they may have left traps."

Young Baxter pointed to a time display on one of the computers. "You mean like this one?" The numbers were counting down. Ten seconds. Nine…

"Run!"

**********

Why wouldn't the ringing stop? Vila cupped his hands over his ears even though he knew it wouldn't help. It was worth a try. Nothing else seemed to have worked and who could sleep with that noise anyway? Even if it was only in his head.

Avon had suggested something once many years ago, it was almost starting to look appealing. Almost. What if those annoying bells never stopped? He might go crazy. Amputation might be his only solution.

He would groan in complaint at the injustice of it all if his last attempt hadn't given him a headache on top of his current pains. _Remind me never to be near a stun grenade again. Alive or dead._

His only cheery thought was that the aliens would be suffering the same headaches. And Argus had given them a double dose. Vila hoped their heads fell off.

Imagine trying to…actually, he had no idea what they were going to do to him and Corinne. Those metal frames that they'd attached them to had aliens-up-to-no-good written all over them. Vila shivered at the close call. What if they'd duplicated them or worse yet, carved them up for lunch? They were aliens; it'd be just the thing they might do.

He felt tingly all over. Was this normal? Of course, if being tied up by aliens was considered normal then he'd rather get off this ride now before he discovered what abnormal was. And being hit by a stun grenade or four was no picnic. Even if they did help save his life.

His mouth felt dry. What he wouldn't give for a nice cold mug of bitter ale. It would be just the thing to wash out the pasty taste in his mouth.

The bio-bed felt soft and comfortable after the hard metal frame the aliens had him strapped to. Though he doubted a restful sleep was what the aliens had in mind for him or Corinne. More a permanent one.

_Corinne! _He suddenly forgot his own moans and pains and his eyes flew open. Why did the ceiling look like it was moving? Ahhh. The light hurt his eyes. He closed them tightly. Well, at least he could see again. He didn't relish being blind and being able to hear bells in his head that no one else could. Why couldn't it have been something more appealing? Like nice violin? He could do with a few hours of soft violin music.

"Vila, I'm going to give you something for the pain." It was the soft voice of a woman he recognized as one of the Tellaran doctors.

Afraid of aggravating his headache, Vila whispered, "How about something for the bells?"

The woman said, "You're still suffering auditory hallucinations due to the pressure in your ears. The medication will reduce the swelling."

Something cold was slapped to the side of his neck and stuck there like a flat parasite. A medicine patch.

"You should feel better shortly. I gave you a stronger dose to help counteract the shock of your experience."

The bells were finally moving away to a different Sector of space and leaving him alone. The headache was becoming a distant memory. In fact, he was feeling pretty good. He even thought about opening his eyes.

"Vila, are you alright?"

Corinne's sweet voice was the music he most wanted to hear. Vila's eyes popped open. He grinned at the young woman who was sitting up on her own bio-bed and rubbing bleary eyes. Vila said expansively, "I'm just fine. How are you feeling?"

"Much better now. I was going to see how Cally was. Do you want to come?"

Vila's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered what else had happened when they tried to infiltrate the alien's meeting. Cally had been shot as she tried to get them out after they had been discovered. There had been a huge bleeding wound in the middle of her body the last time he saw her. How could he forget? Vila carefully slid off the bed. "I thought you'd never ask."

**********

The doctors had repaired the damage and applied a deep tissue regenerator to close Cally's wound. Recovery would take some time but they reassured Avon that she was going to be fine.

He sat by her bed, his hand resting lightly on her chest. With each passing moment, her heart beat stronger. Unconsciously, his breathing matched the gentle rise and fall of her chest. The physical proof of her recovery should have filled him with relief but there was something that was still missing. The most important part of Cally, her mental presence, was still separated from him. Until he felt her mind touching his, he could not be at ease.

Avon eyes rested on her face, drinking in her presence. Once again, he wished that he had psi abilities. Then he would be able to reach out with his mind and bring her back as she had done for him numerous times.

His mental voice was gentle but urgent. *_ Cally. It's Avon. You're going to be fine. You're safe. The doctors have repaired the damage. _*

There was no response. There had been none for twenty-six hours.

The doctors had said that he had to be patient. She was in a healing sleep and would return to consciousness when she was ready. It was an Auronar ability; she was not in a coma. It must have been what had saved her on Terminal when he thought she had been dead.

There had to be something that he could do. Some piece of technology he could dig up. Data banks he could scour. What can a practical man do when there were no practical actions left? Exhausting himself like this did not help Cally but he could not leave her.

*_ Avon? _* Avon inhaled sharply as the faint touch of her presence reached him. It filled him with pleasure, as if someone had suddenly injected him with a drug that produced instant euphoria. All masks and walls dissolved under the onslaught of unspeakable joy. "Cally!"

At the elation in his voice, Cally opened her eyes. The expression on his face was one she had never seen before. The naked emotions she sensed from him filled her with happiness. There was no attempt to control or hide what he was feeling, no fear that his emotions were overriding his rational mind.

Cally could no longer feel the pain or discomfort of her wounds. All thoughts of aliens and narrow escapes were washed away by the look on Avon's face and the sense of him. He looked years younger and the guardedness and hard tension that always kept him hidden had disappeared.

She reached out and touched his face in wonder. Was this was the Avon he would have been if the Federation had not destroyed his life. She had no illusions that it would last forever. Soon the world would come crashing in on him and he would feel the need for the mask again.

For now, they would forget all the troubles and pains and enjoy the man who was not afraid of being human. Until he realized what he was doing. She refused to waste any second of this precious moment. "Kiss me."

"You're hurt." Avon didn't think this qualified as the kind of rest the doctors had intended.

"Then be gentle."

Avon didn't need further prompting as he bent down carefully and lightly embraced her. What he was aware of most was not the touch of her lips, but their minds joining as Cally's presence caressed and surrounded him.

**********

Vila and Corinne reached the medical unit in time to see Avon and Cally kissing. They stopped at the doorway, not wanting to intrude.

Corinne had a soft smile on her face as Vila hugged her from behind and whispered, "She must be fine."

"She must be."

Vila and Corinne knew that they should leave the two to their privacy, but the gentle display of love and tender passion was so surprising that it was hard to tear themselves away. It was a special moment.

Vila said with wonder, "I didn't know he was capable of this. He seems so different."

Corinne leaned back against him. "He's happy. Maybe for the first time in his life. Sometimes...the way she talked about him...Cally always knew he was capable of this. She believed in him."

Vila remembered something. "Avon said something once. This was long before I met you. He said…" His brows knitted as he tried to recall Avon's words. "…that he never understood why it was necessary to become irrational in order to prove you cared, or why you had to prove it at all. I didn't understand what he was saying."

"Cally did?"

"Yes. I suppose having psi abilities helped. She knew what was inside him. She knew he cared when the rest of us thought he didn't."

They felt like voyeurs as Avon and Cally physically expressed their caring for one another. Even though Cally's injuries prevented more intimate contact between them, they seemed to find great pleasure in being with each other.

Vila's voice became a conspiratorial whisper. "This gives me an idea."

Corinne grinned. "Just one idea?"

"Would you like to know what my third most favourite thing to do is?"

"Does it involve ice cream?"

Vila held her closer and said suggestively. "It could."

There was a big smile on both their faces. Avon and Cally were not the only ones who could have fun.

**********

Reya adjusted the sling over Argus's arm with a loud sigh.

Argus said, "At least I didn't get shot this time."

"Nearly getting blown up isn't that much better."

He tried to move his arm but only ended up grimacing. "Ow."

Reya put her hand on his elbow. "Didn't the doctor tell you not to move it?"

"I was…trying to test it."

"Yes?"

He gave a disgruntled grumble. "I suppose I shouldn't move it." Argus reluctantly relented when she helped him lean back onto the bed.

Reya began undressing. "That's a good idea."

She hung her shirt and pants on the back of a chair with military precision. Her appearance took on a softer tone as she slipped on a light green nightgown.

Argus watched with appreciation, as if she was putting on a show for him. "It might be awkward."

"Hmm?" she asked as she slid into the bed beside him.

He indicated his immobilized shoulder.

"Don't commandos have a reputation of being able to make do with whatever they have?"

Argus suppressed a grin. "Is that a challenge?"

Chapter Forty-One

The impeccably dressed woman on Sester's screen was always a source of challenge. She could also be a useful tool if handled correctly. Of course, it was somewhat like trying to handle a dangerous snake without protective gear but he was fully confident in his own abilities. There wasn't anyone he couldn't manipulate if he set his mind to it. Not even his master was entirely immune. His fingers lightly ran along the edge of the curved flight panel. A casual, amused smile played on his lips. It was his normal persona; it was also his most dangerous one. "Madame President."

If you found a person's personal interests and could convince them that they would be serving those interests, they could be easily influenced. Successful people usually had very powerful personal concerns.

Servalan was as composed as an ice statue. "_Psychostrategist_."

A broad smile spread across his face. "To what do I owe this latest attempt at intimidation, Madame President?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

Sester chuckled. "Madame President, I'm surprised at you. If I was that easily manipulated, I would be worthless to you."

"You haven't proven that useful yet."

"Not officially, but personally? That is why you have me on this ship, isn't it?" Truth could set some people free. For others, it was an invisible prison.

Servalan's cultured voice betrayed nothing except cool menace. "Why have you called me?"

"How serious were you at providing assistance to the women of Chandar?"

**********

After two days of enforced rest, Cally couldn't wait to get out of bed but her unofficial nurse wouldn't let her anywhere near the floor until the doctors had cleared her to move. He was very stubborn about it and no amount of persuasion would move him or elicit any emotional response other than a calm but firm, no. To be fair, Avon did have a point and he was following the orders of the doctors. Any movement brought pain and might risk opening up her wound. As the resident medic, she knew this and had given the same orders to her patients, but it was different being on the other side of the bed.

Avon came into the medical unit carrying a tray that he set carefully on the table next to her. "It's time for lunch."

Cally grumbled, "How could I tell? It's always the same thing. Let me guess; is it beef broth this time? Or jelly. Or are you going to surprise me with a combination of the two?"

He stared at her. "You would prefer something else?"

"Anything else."

The steam rising from the bowl didn't smell particularly appealing to Avon either but she needed to eat. "The doctors didn't authorize anything else."

"What they don't know won't hurt them."

"But it might hurt you." He dipped the spoon into the broth and stirred it around.

"I'm the resident medic, I should know."

Avon scooped up a spoonful, blew onto its hot surface, and brought it up to her lips.

With her mouth staunchly closed, Cally looked rebelliously at the broth.

Avon said reasonably, "You're a patient now."

As she opened her mouth to respond, "But I'm…" Avon pressed the spoon to her open mouth and poured the broth in.

Cally glowered at him with consternation as she swallowed the offending liquid. Avon dipped the spoon into the bowl. "I will ask the doctors for a different diet recommendation but you'll have to endure this for now." He brought the spoon up to her lips again but this time, there was hard determination on her face. She was not about to fall for the same trick.

Avon said, "Would it make it easier if I share the same foods until the doctors authorize more palatable items?"

Cally looked surprised. "You would do that for me?"

"I would. Although…it is not as much of a sacrifice for me. I'm used to foods that are less than appetizing."

This was the first time she had heard this. "You are?"

Avon's jaw tightened in memory. "At the Detention Centre."

Cally nodded in understanding. "Prisoner food."

It wasn't something Avon would have preferred to remember or to share with anyone, not even Cally. "It was deliberate."

"I don't understand. You mean they purposefully made it taste bad?"

The memory alone made Avon's stomach turn and his tongue taste the foulness of what he had been forced to eat. But the man who barely allowed any emotion to cross his face was back. His voice was emotionless, as if it were a clinical observation, "Yes. It was a form of control."

There was empathy on Cally's face as she tried to imagine what it must have been like for him. "I can see it as a form of torture but how was it control?"

The look on Cally's face was the reason why Avon had never wanted to share this kind of detail. Other people's sympathy and pity were burdens he didn't want to bear. "If I reacted to the food as you are now, I would be punished. Then they would make it taste even worse. In the end, I learned to block out certain senses. It was not worth the fight. I needed my energy in other areas."

Avon still had the spoon held out for her. Cally looked at the offending liquid and opened her mouth to accept it. It didn't taste any better than the last spoonful but it must have been infinitely better than what Avon had to endure. As Avon filled another spoonful, Cally asked, "I suppose you would consider this a gourmet treat?"

A sliver of a smile tugged at the corner of Avon's lips. "No."

**********

It was one of the burdens of a psychostrategist to endure fools and people who did not have the same intelligence or perspective, which covered just about everyone.

Sester was the detached, professional strategist. "I did warn you that there would be more traffic than you might expect and that the aliens in this facility are too highly placed for comfort."

Argus said, "How are we supposed to interpret something that's so cryptic?"

"I don't expect you to interpret anything..." Sester allowed a faint smirk to show on his lips. "…correctly. You only had to ask me."

Irritation seemed to be Argus's constant companion when speaking with this man. "You would've only given me more riddles."

"They're only riddles if you don't understand the answer."

Argus prevented a growl from escaping. "That's what I said. If I didn't know better, I might think that you didn't know what you were talking about and _that's_ why you talk so that no one can understand you."

"Sometimes you show distinct signs of intelligence and then I wake up."

Grinding his teeth in frustration was Argus's only recourse as he refused to rise to the bait. "I want to know the impact of disturbing this group of aliens. You obviously had some thoughts before Cally went down."

"You want my assessment as a psychostrategist? Didn't you just complain that I only spoke in riddles that you didn't understand?"

Argus exhaled forcefully. He knew what Sester was trying to do but he didn't have a choice. He said evenly, "You said that you would provide an explanation."

Sester watched him closely. He knew Argus's character; it had not changed in all these years. "That wasn't quite what I said."

Argus's glare threatened to drill holes in the man who wasn't supposed to be his opponent anymore. "I'm asking you to explain it to me in a way that I can understand."

Sester smiled. "Alright."

In a low, hard voice, Argus said, "Now that I've stroked your ego, it's time to see how good you are."

**********

Shadows played across the Guildmaster's face as he spoke. "The pieces are all in place."

The people in the room were all master psychostrategists of the highest order. Older men and women who controlled the fate of worlds without a second's thought. Sester might be the most gifted puppeteer in several generations, but he was not yet privy to the inner sanctum. The Guildmaster was grooming him to be his successor, but for now, he was one of their most precious and dangerous instruments.

Saraid was a woman with sharp eyes and an even sharper sense of danger. "We were right. They remembered each other even without the cognitive knowledge."

Zeveron, a precise man who specialized in risk calculation, said, "Their bond was always strong."

Saraid said, "Fortunately for us."

Guildmaster Venner said, "And for them. They might be able to recover part of what was taken away from them."

Deverell was considered ruthless, even by his fellow psychostrategists. "Not too much or they would no longer be as useful. Regardless of what you say Guildmaster, what our enemies did, has worked to our advantage. We were lucky that Sester was sent to us or we would never have known what they were trying to do."

Zeveron had a clipped voice. "Hopefully we will have better success with them than the other one. Trying to turn him was a great failure."

There were murmurs of agreement.

Venner frowned. "The pressure was too great. Going insane in the way that he did was an outside possibility. His basic character should have been strong enough to overcome what was done to his mind."

Deverell said with a cold sneer, "The man was an arrogant menace."

Venner nodded. "That was the flaw that made him useless in the end."

**********

Sester picked up his knight and peered into its dark eyes. He was playing alone but his subconscious kept giving him annoying images of Kirsten touching the white pieces and countering his every strategy.

_Where are you, Kirsten?_

There were details he needed to tell her about the final contest but she had made no indication that she was interested in speaking to him. Sester reached out with his black knight and made his next move against himself. If she wanted to play games, he could wait. He had all the time in the world; he was not the one who had a personal stake in the outcome.

Chapter Forty-Two

Jenna hadn't heard from Olean Rane in almost a week. After his active interest in rooting out those responsible for the drug trade, the silence was ominous. The question was…was he the one in trouble or was she? Neither answer would give her relief but she had to find out. The best way to do that was to visit his unofficial refuge at the inn.

She entered the familiarly bustling place with nervous expectations. It was impossible to find a quiet corner so she settled for a seat at the bar. She could barely hear herself think above the boisterous and animated crowd. It was an enviable state to be in, oblivious to anything except your own pleasures. It had been along time since she had the luxury of burdens that could be drowned by alcohol or in the company of friends.

Her dark glare warded off any unwelcome attempts at social interaction. She distractedly pushed around pieces of meat in a stew she had no enthusiasm for as she mentally rehearsed the lies she was about to tell. The smell of the spices radiating from the bowl should have tempted her taste buds but there was already a taste in her mouth that made everything seemed bitter; the acrid taste that churned her stomach every time she thought of what she had been doing to her friend.

Lelea emerged from the dark corridor that led to Rane's suite. Her sharp eyes spied Jenna instantly but instead of waving her through, she came over and sat down on the stool next to her. Her eyes were heavy with worry. "I saw you on the monitors."

"Is he here?"

Lelea seemed caught between answers. "He doesn't want to see anyone, Jenna. Not even you."

Jenna put the spoon down and leaned forward. Her voice was low and urgent. "What's going on? Is he all right? I haven't heard from him in awhile."

The answer was barely a whisper. "They've killed him, Jenna." The innkeeper's upper lip quavered as she struggled to hold back tears.

This was the last thing Jenna had expected to hear. How could the old soldier be dying? He was indestructible. "What do you mean dying?"

"He might as well be dead." Lelea reached for a towel from behind the counter and vigorously rubbed a phantom stain. "He…won't take the drug."

Jenna didn't want to ask the question. She was afraid she already knew the answer. "What…drug?"

Lelea's distraught eyes met hers. "He has Shade poisoning, Jenna."

Jenna's mouth dropped open in shock. The news was even worse than she thought. "How is that possible?"

"He won't say…but it _has_ to do with the people he's fighting."

_Had her criminals done something without telling her?_

"Let me see him, Lelea."

The innkeeper rubbed at the phantom stain even harder. "I don't think so."

"Maybe I can help."

The woman fixed her with a hard stare. "Can you?"

To Jenna's guilty heart, the question almost seemed an accusation. She was glad the woman wasn't Auronar or she would be facing some awkward questions. "I can try."

**********

Rane's suite was dimly lit. Its sole occupant ignored urgently blinking lights. As she stepped into the room, Jenna felt claustrophobic, as if the walls were closing in to form a coffin. A painful coughing sound drew her attention to the figure on the bed.

Rane said in a rasping voice, "I told Lelea not to let anyone in here."

Jenna pulled up a chair and sat beside him. "She's worried about you and so am I. Why didn't you tell me you had Shade poisoning?"

"What's the point? There's nothing you can do."

"You should have told me. We're supposed to be in this fight together." Her face felt like a mask that she dared not take off and her words sounded as if they came from someone else; a person who was not a friend.

"Call it the vanity of an old soldier. I didn't want anyone to see me like this." Another fit of coughing robbed him of speech.

Jenna spotted a jug of water by the bed but no glass. The only choice was to go to ask Lelea for one or stay and use what was available. She decided against leaving him alone and lifted the jug. Some of the liquid splashed out as she angled it for him to drink.

Rane said between coughs. "Not water. Ale."

"Shade poisoning dehydrates the body. Water is better for you."

He took a reluctant sip and then a few gulps as the water eased the dryness in his throat. He leaned back tiredly.

Jenna replaced the jug on the table. "You need to take the Shade. It will help slow the effects of the poison."

"I'm not giving in to those criminals, Jenna."

"What do you think is going to happen if you die? _They will win_." She thought about giving him a shot while he slept. It shouldn't take long from the looks of his condition.

Rane turned his head away from her and stared up at the ceiling. "You don't understand, Jenna. I don't know how long I can fight them." His body was shivering. She hadn't noticed the smell of sweat before but now it was a stench that was as strong as her guilt.

"Are you in pain?"

As if in answer, Rane suddenly curled into a ball and tried to bite back a moan to little avail. His body shook violently and his hands were clenched as he fought the agony that wracked his body. Jenna watched in shock and helpless horror.

As the attack subsided, Rane allowed Jenna to give him another sip of water from the jug. He lay back exhausted. "Do you understand now?"

"I understand that you're going to die if you don't take the Shade."

Rane shook his head. "I misjudged how long I had but they didn't. They sent me a threat several days ago. If I didn't stop what I was doing and sabotage our people's attempts to shut them down, they would cut off my supply of Shade."

"But you're not taking it."

"They don't know that. They don't know I would rather die than give them what they want."

His shirt was clammy and wet to the touch as she put her hand on his arm. "Rane, I know that you don't want to but you have to take the Shade. You'll die if you don't and the pain will only get worse."

"Shade weakens the mind and will, Jenna. I…might not be able to resist them if I do."

Jenna's head bowed again. This time more to hide the shame on her face rather than the anguish. "I'm…sorry."

"It's not your fault."

_But it is. _She had to get to the bottom of what happened and find him some help if she could.

"How…" He coughed again. "…did you leave things with Argus?"

"Why?" she asked guardedly. Did he know? Would he suspect why she was really here?

"I know you left them but you never said why. I've had Borel contact him for help. I hope it doesn't make things difficult for you but they'll be coming after they're done their current mission."

Jenna's mind was racing. _Avon is coming here. _This was working out even better than she had already found the people she needed to exact her revenge. They would be arriving in a few days. It was time to contact the rebel leaders. _I will be ready for you, Avon._

**********

Sester got up and locked his cabin door. It was so late now it was almost early. Kirsten was not going to come tonight. He frowned, had he miscalculated where she was concerned? There was so little time left before the third Challenge. He would have expected an appearance from her, as there were still things they needed to talk over.

He sighed, he was determined not to go to her. Not just because Reya had made it plain what would happen if he were found in one of the Chandaran women's rooms. Kirsten set him off balance enough without him intruding on her own ground. If she wanted his help, she would have to come to him. In their next encounter, he decided, as he got ready for bed, Kirsten was going to be the one off balance.

The door chime woke him from a sound sleep. Sester eyed his chronometer and stifled a groan. It had to be Argus. He was the only one who would view this hour as a reasonable time to be up and about. Reya did too, but she was far too considerate to do that to him. He briefly considered ignoring it and just turning over. The chime sounded again, longer this time as if Argus was leaning hard on the activator. If it was Argus, either it was urgent or the man was about to knock down his door.

With a heavy and irritated sigh, Sester threw back the covers and strode across the room. He opened the door. "Argus, this had better be important."

"I could do an impression if you like," Kirsten smiled at him. "Though, I'm not sure I would do justice to the growl he normally has with you."

"What are you doing here at this hour of the morning?" Sester frowned, annoyed with himself. She had done it again! He was damned if he was going to let her keep the advantage.

"Standing in the corridor," she smiled up at him, her grey eyes sparkling with laughter. The sharp retort that sprung to mind died on Sester's lips. Her face was so close to his, all he had to do was lean forward and…

Sester snapped his head back and stepped to one side.

"You had best come in then." His voice sounded almost surly. No, kissing her was definitely not how to establish he was in control. He wished now he'd paused long enough to throw some clothes on. The heat from her body as she passed was distracting. A distraction that in the sleep shorts he was wearing was going to become obvious if he didn't get his own thoughts into order. He deliberately hauled his mind back to business, reaching for the cold professionalism of the psychostrategist.

"I would have expected you sooner."

"Yes I know." She perched on the edge of his desk one leg swinging back and forth, as if this was her cabin and she was making herself comfortable. Sester found his eyes following the movement, almost mesmerised by the rise and fall of her skirt as it revealed and concealed a long slim leg and ankle.

"Then why didn't you come?" Sester moved away from the door. He considered taking the chair, but decided the view from there would be far too distracting. Instead, he leaned against the end of the bed.

"Why don't you tell me?" She smiled again her soft lips warm and inviting. Sester found himself smiling in reply.

"I asked first." Sester almost smacked himself. She had answered his question with a question. It was a deliberate tactic and the only witty reply he could manage was something a child would think of.

"So you did." She leaned forward, giving Sester an enticing view of her cleavage. "But you know the answer."

"Do I?" Sester smiled with casual charm. That was better; counter her comments with a question. Throw the ball back into her court.

"You know you do." She laughed; the sound was pure velvet rubbing down his spine.

Flirting was all very well but they had much to discuss. It was time to remind her who he was and what her role in their relationship was. "I thought you came to talk?"

"But I am talking." It was her turn to smile.

Sester blinked. That sort of smile should be registered as a weapon and was just as disarming as his could be. He forced his mind back to business. "I wasn't thinking of riddles."

"I am not speaking in riddles, at least not to me." Kirsten pushed away from the desk and walked over to him, her hips swaying in way that could only be described as seductive.

Sester resisted the urge to take her in his arms. He knew that was what she expected of him, but he wasn't going to play the game her way. Each sway of her hips caused a pool of heat in his groin. In the flimsy sleep shorts, his interest was becoming rather evident. Sester cast a quick glance at his pillow. No, snatching it up to cover his arousal would just make him look foolish and defensive. No if she wanted to play with fire. Sester was going to oblige her. He leant back on the bed, allowing her to see the effect she had on him.

Kirsten stopped just as his knees brushed her skirt. He looked up at her, realising this view was pleasant and more distracting than ever. Sester was beginning to get the feeling that things were not going as he planned, again.

"Do you still think I'm speaking in riddles?" her voice was almost a purr. Sester licked his lips as his mouth felt unaccountably dry.

"No, not riddles." He smiled as he sat up. That didn't really help; his nose was only a hairs-breath away from the thin material of her dress. He breathed out slowly, noting her shiver as his breath teased her breasts. He laughed slightly as she stepped back. It wasn't much, but he'd count that a small victory. Kirsten was not as confident as she projected. She was going to fall to him tonight, he could almost visualize the moment of her surrender. He was looking forward to it.

He got to his feet, closing the distance between them. The heat from her body burned through the thin layer of his nightwear. He pulled her against him enjoying the sweet torment of her body brushing against him, fuelling his desire even further. Kirsten caught her bottom lip between her teeth and twined her arms round his neck.

"I thought you wished to talk?"

"I did didn't I?" Sester bent his head and brushed his lips over hers savouring their sweet taste and the little catch in her breath as he did so. He was finally in control. His lips brushed between hers gently teasing them apart. Kirsten gave a moan in the back of her throat and pressed herself tight up against him. A hot rush of desire shot through him. He forgot what he wanted to talk about or why Kirsten had come. All he was thinking of was how good she tasted and how soft she felt in his arms. His hands roamed her back sliding up and down her spine. Kirsten placed her hands on his shoulders gently kneading them. Sester moved against her as he deepened the kiss, plundering her mouth fiercely. His whole being ached with desire and his loose nightwear was too damn restricting in a certain key area.

Suddenly Kirsten shoved against his shoulders, her leg hooking behind his knee. As Sester fell back on the bed, she twisted out of his arms. Sester stared up at her in astonishment. Why did women feel the need to knock him to the ground, or in this case the bed? She looked magnificent with her flushed face, lips red and moist from the kiss. Her eyes still burning with passion's fire. He couldn't wait to see what she would do next.

"I think I had better go." Kirsten sighed, backing away.

He should have known. Just when he thought he was in control, she blind-sided him. Sester felt more like yelling, "Stay damn you. You can't just walk out now!" His body ached with desire and she was proposing to leave him unsatisfied. "You could stay." Sester offered trying to sound cool but inviting.

"I'll see you in the morning." Kirsten smiled as she straightened her skirt and somewhat rumpled top. Sester's eyes followed the movement of her hand. Now was not the time to say he preferred her tousled appearance. Especially when he was trying to recover what was left of his dignity.

"It's morning already." His easy smile was forced as he levered himself off the bed.

"Then I'll see you later!" Kirsten laughed as she whisked herself out the door.

Sester ran to the door and opened it. There was no sign of Kirsten. He took a step outside with the half-formed idea of finding her. He stopped and frowned. Going after her would be playing into her hands. He was not going to run through the ship in a game of hide and seek. An aggravated sigh escaped his lips; she had done it to him again!

The desire that had coursed through him had transformed into a howling frustration. Sester knew he just was not going to get to sleep at all. Muttering about the contrariness of females, he got dressed and went to the gym to work off some of the pent up energy.

**********

Sester eyed the exercise apparatus dubiously, wondering which piece of equipment he wanted to torture himself with. A happy whistle reached his ears before Argus strode purposefully into the room. There was a disgustingly satisfied smile on the man's face that abruptly turned upside down when he saw Sester. "What are you doing here?"

Sester's response was deliberately ambiguous. Just the thing to provoke a confrontation that he suddenly felt like having. "What do you think?" He adjusted the weight slider on the machine.

"Reya isn't here."

"I can see that." It was time for an amused and superior smile. Sester straddled the bench and lay back, shifting up so that his arms could reach the weight bar.

"She's too busy to exercise today so you can leave any time." When Sester ignored him and began pushing the bar up, Argus sat down on the bench next to him. He glanced at the setting that Sester had pushed the machine to and snorted before he increased the weight resistance on his own equipment. It was painful working out with one arm immobilized but his face was steely as he began pressing with one hand. He had intended to take the bothersome sling off but Sester would probably tell Reya. The only way to have a productive session was to block all thoughts of the psychostrategist from his mind.

Sester wished he'd set the weight lower as he struggled with the bar. Four. There was no way to control the panting breaths. Five. Six.

Argus was whistling cheerfully again. It was an extremely irritating sound. Coupled with the content smile on the man's face, Sester could guess the source of Argus's good mood. "Are you always this noisy when you exercise? I can't concentrate."

Argus said snidely as he continued his smooth, easy movements, "Are you sure it isn't because you're about to pass out from exhaustion?"

Sester sat up and faced him. "You're right, this activity isn't for me. I'm going to find Reya."

"Don't you dare."

"What's going on?" Reya had strolled into the room as the two men confronted each other. She had on shorts and a fitted short-sleeved top. Sester swallowed hard as his eyes were drawn to the noticeable curve of her… This was not going to work with her here. He got up to leave.

Argus said sarcastically, "He _said_ he's here to exercise but it was too much for him."

Sester glared at him. "Who said it was too much for me?"

"You've only been in here less than a minute. Now you're leaving."

Sester countered, "Should you be exercising with your shoulder in a sling?"

Argus glanced cautiously at Reya. "I'm being careful."

Reya chose to act as if the two men were not acting like teenagers. She said to Sester, "Would you like some pointers?"

Would he like….of course he would. Score a point against his opponent, laugh at the jealous frustration on his face, _and_ have Reya helping him willingly. There wasn't much of a decision to be made. "I'd love some," he said with a grateful smile.

Argus glared at him and absently pressed on the weight with one hand.

Reya chose a machine that worked the upper body. "It's important to have proper technique. It isolates the muscles and avoids injuries." As she pushed against the resistance, every curve of Reya's chest seemed accentuated. Sester's mouth was moist with anticipation. Kirsten's…he caught himself as started comparing the two women. It was a good thing that he wasn't wearing his flimsy shorts, he was about to embarrass himself the second time in the space of an hour. His words came out in a rush, "I've got it."

Argus had stopped exercising and was looking at him suspiciously. "What have you got?"

"I've…got a cramp."

Reya sat up and reached towards him. "Show me where. I have a way to relax the muscle."

Sester jerked backwards quickly and nearly tripped over his own feet. "Not there."

Reya had a puzzled expression on her face, "Where?" Argus was glaring at him.

Backing away slowly and feigning a pronounced limp, Sester said, "I'll be fine. I don't need any help. I'll go walk it off." If he wasn't so busy retreating, he would laugh at the irony. Reya was concerned about him and had even offered to place her hands on his body. What was he doing running away?

Outside the gym, he dropped the limp and walked slowly back to his cabin. He was more frustrated than before and the pent up energies threatened to explode from his body.

It was all Kirsten's fault! Her teasing and games had twisted him around. He had strong desires for two different women now and neither one of them was within his reach.

**********

Reya shrugged in mystification and leaned back on the weight bench. "What do you think that was all about?"

"Who knows? I thought you were too busy to exercise this morning?"

She began pushing on the bar. "I was supposed to meet with Kirsten this morning but she said she was tired. She didn't get much sleep last night."

"Nerves about the Third Challenge?"

"Didn't seem like it." She had a crazy thought. "Do you think that the two of them…"

"The two of who?"

"Sester and Kirsten."

"He's still hung up on _you_." Argus pushed extra hard on the weight bar and grimaced.

"That may be…but he likes women. I've warned him about messing around with the Chandarans but Kirsten…" Her speculation trailed off as she sat up worriedly.

"She's very intelligent."

"He might not be able to resist."

Argus rubbed his sore shoulder. "Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No." She considered saying something about the abuse of his shoulder but decided that the pain was enough of a warning.

"_You're_ not talking to him, not if he's still stuck on you. Besides, is it any of our business? They're both adults."

"That's true but I feel responsible for them."

He had a reply ready but thought better of it. It wouldn't be fair to Reya. "Maybe you should talk to Kirsten instead?"

"That's an idea."

Chapter Forty-Three

The hover-chair glided smoothly as Avon pushed it the long distance from his workshop to the medical unit. He was as eager to show it to her, as he was to test out his latest creation. It was a hasty job, born of midnight ideas from a restless mind and a desire to see her happy. He hoped that she would be delighted with the opportunity to escape her medical prison. Enough that she wouldn't ask too many questions about the hours of sleep he had given up to work on it.

The last few days had been hard on her. She wasn't used to feeling helpless, needing to rely on others for something as simple as eating and drinking. There was a desire for independence and freedom that he understood only too well. He did what he could for her, the only things he knew how, but they didn't seem to help and her frustration level grew. Perhaps a change of scenery and an increased freedom of mobility might improve her mood. It made him uncomfortable that she was feeling trapped.

**********

The last time Cally had been injured enough to need people was on Terminal but there had been no one there to help her. No Avon to wipe the beads of sweat that formed on her brow or to calmly tell her that she was going to be fine. No one to bear her moods and to coax her to eat when she didn't feel like it. No obliging lover to divert her attentions from the aches and pains that made her irritable.

The loneliness had been frightening. There was no living presence to remind her that she was still alive and not some disembodied presence that had passed onto another plane of existence. Her mental screams were swallowed up by the silence.

Even on Saurian Major, after all her friends had died, there had been the dark shadowy presence of their murderers. They were a focus for her mind, preventing her from slipping into the madness of being totally alone. For an Auronar, to be alone was to be powerless. She had neared that on Terminal, after her body had healed enough for her mind to become conscious again. It didn't mean that she was fully recovered; only that she was no longer close to death.

Her legs had been broken, ribs and pelvis fractured, and one arm dislocated. A concussion fogged her mind. For days, she had lain in a stupor of pain and mental confusion. Only her will to survive had made her crawl to a nearby container of water that had cracked and half-spilled on the ground. Every inch had been agony but the warrior in her refused to give up. The soot-covered water slaked her thirst but left a bitter aftertaste. She closed her eyes to drink, trying not to imagine what had fallen into it.

Exhaustion and throbbing wounds robbed her of the ability to do anything other than sleep and make desperate attempts to project her mental voice to whoever could hear her. But there was no one. She was completely alone. A deep depression descended on her as she realized the implications of what had happened. The shock of her situation had turned to anger at being abandoned by the others.

Lying in her own filth because she did not have the ability to remove her clothes. Painfully crawling on broken limbs to reach an energy bar only to discover that it was a discarded wrapping. Her body had brought her back so that she could wait for death.

May you die in silence. It was one of the worst curses that one Auronar could wish on another.

She was angry at Avon most of all but not because he had left her on Terminal. That was something she could understand. None of them knew about the Auron ability to heal at the point of death. He most likely thought her dead. She was lucky that they hadn't decided to bury her or consign her to the flames. What made her angry were all the memories that played in her mind, all the missed opportunities and the anguish that they had not been more. They were the only company she had during that lonely time. Until the Federation came.

Why was she thinking of this now? She wasn't in the same circumstances. She wasn't alone. There were people taking care of her and Avon was with her.

**********

Avon pushed in the hover-chair with a face approximating cheerfulness, as much of it as he could manage.

*_ Why did you leave me? _* The accusation stopped Avon in his tracks. Cally was shocked that she had projected this to him. She hadn't intended to. The faintly happy look disappeared from Avon's face as he covered the remaining distance with slow, burdened steps, as if the object he was pushing had suddenly become an offering that he was afraid to give her. Her senses told her that it was not the object that he was afraid she would reject, it was himself.

*_ I'm sorry, Avon. I didn't mean for you to hear that. _*

He parked the object beside the bed and looked down at her. For humans, the eyes were their only windows to the soul. His told her that her words had caused him to retreat further behind his walls but her Auron senses knew that not all of him was hidden to her. Since the day her mind had touched his again, he had left a part of himself open to her. She could hurt him now and see it reflected in his eyes.

Avon thought towards her, * _I didn't mean to leave you alone. I should have waited to tell you where I was going. _*

Cally's touched his arm as her mind stretched out for the warmth she knew was there. *_ You did nothing wrong. Don't blame yourself. _* Her presence brushed along his walls, searching for the cracks that would let her in; gentle as a feather so that he would not withdraw further. * _I was remembering something else. _*

*_ I failed you in this memory? _*

*_ It wasn't your fault, Avon. _*

*_ Yet you asked why I left you. _*

She stroked lightly along Avon's arm, feeling the tension, wondering if he had enough strength to share someone else's pain and anguish on top of his own. Her mind lightly touched his, like a lover teasing apart the other's lips for a deeper kiss. Avon slowly allowed her access.

Beyond his hard and thick outer shell full of bristles, were the broken pieces of the man she cared about deeply. Pain and the strength that refused to bow under the burdens that life had thrown at him. He was flawed and he was beautiful; capable of great love and nobility as well as great selfishness. The two sides of him warring constantly against each other because he felt he had no choice.

She told him, *_ I was alone on Terminal. _*

*_ Ah. _* The injury and feelings of helplessness must have triggered the memory. There had been no one to help her. *_ I shouldn't have left you alone there. _*

*_ You couldn't have known. You thought I was dead. _*

His hand covered hers, their fingers locking together. *_ I wish…I had stayed. _*

*_ Like you did with Anna? _*

Avon's breath caught in his throat. *_ I should have stayed with you. _*

He looked down at the hand that gave him a physical connection to Cally. This was the same hand that had refused to let go of Anna because he did not want to sever their bond even in death. It had been a deliberate, irrational act because he loved her. Their ties were deeper than anyone could understand. The memory of Anna's love had kept him alive in the years when the rest of him had sought the cold death of the unfeeling machine.

But his hand was on Cally's body now, not Anna's. He was tied to this alien woman in ways that were deeper than had been possible with Anna.

Cally had a brief vision of Avon kneeling over her body, his hand resting on her chest. Just like in the cellar? Was her mind superimposing her face on another woman's body? She asked gently, * _Why did you leave me, Avon?_ *

A shudder passed through him and his hand tightened on hers. *_ Dayna came. _*

The young woman's voice came to him through the vague mist of time. She had spoken next to his ear but she seemed far away. The whole world seemed far away as he maintained the connection to Cally's body. _Avon, the whole place is going to go! We have to get out of here! _

All he had been aware of was his hand gently resting on Cally as he knelt next to her. The only thought his mind had been capable of was that she deserved a companion for her death.

He told Cally, * _Dayna must have dragged me out. I… don't remember how. One moment I was with you…and then, I was outside and ORAC was on my lap. _*

*_ You must have blacked out. _*

*_ I…must have. _* His memories of that period were hazy.

Cally pursed her lips in thought. *_ Servalan did play with your mind. You were exhausted. Not thinking clearly. There's no telling what she did when she was conditioning your mind to believe that Blake was there. They would not have been gentle. You could have still been suffering the after effects. _* Her voice suddenly became urgent. * _Avon, did you ever reverse the conditioning or find out what she did to you? _*

The idea startled him. * _I never considered it. I assumed the conditioning only went as far as making me believe that Blake was alive. *_

*_ I think we should find out the first chance we get. I don't trust Servalan. _*

*_ You're right. She can't be trusted. Cally, about what happened... _*

She brought her fingers up to his lips in a symbolic gesture. * _I know, Avon. Once you were with the others, you couldn't leave them. They needed you. _*

Avon squeezed her hand. * _I wish I had stayed with you. You are not used to being alone." _Even in death, he should not have left her but fate had intruded in his life again. Against his will._ * It must have been frightening. _*

_* It doesn't matter now. That experience is over. * _

*_ If I had been able to be free of Anna, I would have come to you sooner. I shouldn't have wasted that time. _*

Cally touched his face, her thumb lightly following the curve of his chin. For a brief moment, there was contentment on his face as he leaned into her gentle caress.

She said, * _You're here now_. *

He bent down and brushed his lips over hers in a brief kiss. "I have something for you."

Cally glanced at the object that he had brought in. "That looks like the chair from our cabin but you've done something to it."

"Yes. I adapted it using the field array from one of the anti-grav carts. I thought you might like to take a trip out of the medical unit today."

"A field trip?"

"If you like. I've cleared it with the doctors and I promised to keep you off your feet."

"I can't wait."

**********

Reya was a decisive woman. Once she made a decision to do something, she didn't like leaving it festering. After allowing for a suitable period of rest, she went to the cabin where Kirsten was bunked with four others of the Chandaran women.

"How are you feeling?"

Kirsten stifled a yawn. "Just got up. I'm sorry about before."

"Are you and Sester seeing each other outside of your training?"

Kirsten looked startled. She was not used to such a direct and commanding woman who was not afraid to speak her mind. "Why do you ask that?"

"I know him. He would not be able to resist someone like you."

Kirsten said with as much disinterested casualness as she could muster. "I'll remember that."

Reya's eyes narrowed. The smoothness of this woman was far too familiar. Either Sester had been teaching her to play his games or she was playing her own. "Be careful of him, Kirsten."

"He won't harm me."

There was an air of confidence in her statement that troubled Reya. What had Kirsten and Sester been up to? "That's not what I'm afraid of. He's too charming for his own good."

Kirsten half perched herself against a table, one leg slowly swinging back and forth. A smirk threatened to appear on her face as she remembered her last encounter with the bewildered man. "That he is…amongst other things."

"Take him seriously, Kirsten or you'll get yourself into trouble."

"I appreciate your concern. But don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

Even though she was becoming increasingly disturbed, Reya marvelled at how far this woman had come in a short period of time. From the hesitant woman who tried to hide her intelligence, she had become a strong one who thought she could play games with a psychostrategist. _That confidence is going to be the death of you. _"That's what he wants you to think. Have the two of you…"

Kirsten chuckled. "Oh, no. I won't let him. Yet."

_Far too confident. And you're having fun._

"You're playing with fire."

"So is he."

"You don't understand, Kirsten. He's a _Federation_ psychostrategist. He is giving you the advantage by reacting to you as a man. He does it because he enjoys the sport."

"I know what he is."

"Do you? He's not like the Chandaran males you've known. He has a degree of control that you could not imagine. Just because he's enjoying the human part of himself, doesn't mean that is all he is. There is something inside him that is ruthless and dangerous and views the rest of us as puppets."

"I know that too."

Reya highly doubted that. "You have never been one of his victims."

"He would never hurt me."

"Don't be naïve, Kirsten. He might not want to, but make no mistake about it, if he has to, he will without a second's hesitation."

Kirsten's leg had stopped swinging. "I know about you and him."

_Is this woman seriously trying to play games with me?_ Reya thought incredulously. "That's none of your concern. I'm only worried about you and I don't want you to get hurt. However, you're both adults. What you do with your lives is your own business. I just hope that I won't have to pick up the pieces when you discover that it's too late to let go."

"Is that what happened to you? Or is that none of my business too?"

"I know he's hard to resist, Kirsten. He can be everything that a woman would want in a man: sensitive, caring, gentle, and he understands a woman's needs in a way very few men are capable of. He is also fun and exudes an element of risk that is irresistible. _But he is dangerous_."

Kirsten cocked her head with interest. "Are you in love with him?"

Reya stiffened at the question. "No. But I have seen the side of him that you're attracted to."

"I see more than that. But as you said, it's my business."

Reya sighed. "Very well. But please be careful." She wondered if it would be more useful speaking to Sester instead.

Kirsten knew that Reya was only doing this because she cared but nothing was going to stop her. She was glad that Reya was not a rival but she knew that there was something between these two. It added an element of challenge that would make it even more interesting. "I appreciate your concern, Reya. I promise, I will be careful."

Chapter Forty-Four

Sester didn't know if it was night or day anymore. All he knew was that he was tired, irritable and he needed lots of coffee. Hot, black coffee that would scald the throat. He stormed into the dining area and nearly skidded to a stop. _Kirsten!_

The source of his frustration was laughing at a table surrounded by a protective layer of women. She had a beautiful smile and seemed fresh from a restful sleep. The red, inviting lips from the previous night beckoned to him. His disobedient legs took a step towards her and then another. _Look at me._

As if she had heard his thoughts, Kirsten turned and stared straight at him. His legs turned to gelatine and he nearly stumbled. Kirsten's eyes were bright with amusement, drawing him even closer.

He stood staring down at the crowded table but the only face he could see was hers. His voice was harsh with need, "Come with me."

All of the women stared at him with astonishment but he didn't notice. The object of his attention tilted her head to study him but didn't answer.

Sentha asked, "All of us?"

Sester seemed to wake up suddenly to the fact that there were other people at the table.

With a glare at Kirsten. _You know I'm talking to you._ He said politely, "Sorry, I meant Kirsten. I have some details to go over with her before the Challenge tomorrow. Kirsten, can you come with me please?"

Kirsten said pleasantly, "Alright. Sorry ladies, it looks like I'm busy. I'm sure it won't take long. Go on without me."

They were two politely correct people who were not about to do anything remotely interesting.

Sentha eyed Sester suspiciously but said, "We'll save you a spot. Don't take too long."

**********

Kirsten led him out to the corridor, her gracefully swaying hips provoking a primal reaction. He felt feverish as his quickening pulse sent hot energy rushing through his body, gathering at a spot that made him glad that he was no longer wearing flimsy shorts. This woman made him feel things that he never had before. With Reya, it was a controlled passion. With Kirsten, it was the instinct of an animal that wanted to possess its mate. He wanted to whirl her around and pin her to the wall with his body. Pressing up against her so that she could feel his hard, eager length.

Before he realized what he was doing, he had her exactly in that position. His mouth devoured hers, tasting her, drinking her in hungrily, swallowing her moans of pleasure. She was finally his and he couldn't get enough of her. He wanted to run his impatient hands over her body and feel every inch of her. His fingers were suddenly clumsy as he struggled with her clothes. _Who uses buttons these days_? He was only dimly aware that they were in his cabin.

Her light laughter rippled through him and her eyes danced with amusement, "Would you like some help with that?"

The animal part of him wanted to dispense with the buttons altogether and tear the clothes from her body. He was overheating and needed the cool of her flesh against his. But something stopped him. _No! I can't. _His mind struggled for control. _What am I doing? What are you doing to me?_

Light fingers brush against his groin. He groaned and threw his head back, pressing himself against her hand and pinning her harder against the wall. He was lost. His voice was like rough silk. "I need…"

"You need Reya."

He stared at her in shock, as if she had suddenly doused him with a bucket of ice-cold water. "What?"

The sparkle had left her eyes and she was studying his reaction intently. "You heard me."

Sester pushed himself away from the wall as opposing emotions tangled his body's reactions, allowing his straining mind to regain control. She had managed to turn the tables on him again. He glared at her as passion turned to cold anger. "_Get out_."

Kirsten was taken aback by the tone in his voice. Had she misjudged something about him? Had she been right about everything else, except this?

The warning that Reya had given her rang in her ears. She should not get in too deep that she couldn't get out. The danger was about Sester. But was the real danger the other way around? Was Sester the one who found himself trapped and _he_ couldn't get out? This was very interesting.

Her talk with Reya had reassured her about one thing. Whatever her feelings were for Sester, they did not extend further than friendship. But it was obvious from Sester's reaction that the reverse was not true. The silly male. He had fallen for a woman who could never be his. How did a bright psychostrategist manage to entangle himself in such an impossible situation?

All of this confirmed something else for her. Despite his casual and roguish appeal, this man was capable of a great deal of love and devotion. It was the second thing that had drawn her to him.

It was obvious that he needed help. Her head bowed and she said in a mollified tone, "I'm sorry. It's none of my concern. We can continue if you want. I won't mention it again." Her fingers went to her blouse and she began removing the remaining buttons.

Sester stared at her in shock as anger turned to confusion, which transformed into fascinated horror as she slid the blouse over her shoulders. His eyes followed her movements, entranced by the satiny smooth skin that he wanted to taste and the curve of…

Surprisingly, he reached out and drew her blouse back over her shoulders. "No, not like this."

"Isn't this what you wanted?" She tried to slide the blouse off again.

He put his hand over hers. "Yes. It is." He couldn't believe what he was doing but he closed her blouse and began buttoning it. For some strange reason, this was easier than trying to unbutton it.

The fact that he was putting her clothes back on was having an erotic effect on Kirsten but she kept her voice light. "You're very confusing. Do you plan to do this with my clothes on? It might be a little awkward as we get near the end."

When he finished, Sester kissed her gently. She tasted even sweeter than before but this time he controlled himself. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I want you to leave now."

Kirsten said, "You don't have to do this. I'm willing to…"

"I know you are but I won't use you like this. You deserve better."

Her voice became a whisper, "You don't want it casual between us?"

"No."

Kirsten's heart leapt at this admission. "I'll go. But only if you let me come back."

Sester nodded. "We still have to discuss the final Challenge."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know. But it's all you're going to get for now."

**********

Psychostrategist Deverell was a master of the first order, a member of the inner sanctum and a long time friend of the Guildmaster. He was also one of the few that dared oppose him, but only when he let him. There was a short scar over his left cheek and an unshaven look about him that did not fit the traditional image of the Guild. Currently he was in the Guildmaster's work chambers at the end of the day, discussing a subject of great concern, namely Sester.

"He's out of control, Venner. You have to bring him back. He's becoming too human."

"It's because of his humanity that he's been so successful," Venner said with unconcern as he picked out a decanter of vintage brandy and brought it up to the light. He was used to Deverell's paranoia where Sester was concerned.

"But it makes him dangerous."

"We need him to be." Satisfied with his choice, he unstoppered the bottle and took a light whiff of its heady aroma.

"I don't understand you."

"You're not supposed to."

"Yes, you're the Guildmaster and I'm just your sidekick." Deverell loosened his collar. He couldn't wait for the relaxation that was allowed at the end of the day and cursed the trappings of formality that made his life so uncomfortable.

Venner knew that Deverell was cantankerous and tended to rail against things he didn't agree with, but the man was useful. He was not afraid to speak his mind, even in front of the Guildmaster but he also knew his place. "You're a valued friend." He poured generous portions into two glasses.

"You've created someone who does not fit into the Guild order."

"That is at my discretion. As you pointed out, I _am_ the Guildmaster."

"Yes, and I'm your valued friend and _comic_ sidekick, I suppose."

Venner laughed. "One of those."

"He's your favourite but what you're doing to him..."

"He may be my favourite but he is here to serve Guild interests."

"Remind me never to be your favourite, Venner."

"Don't worry. You never will be." Instead of going back behind his desk, he went to a lounge area that had couches on two sides and a low rectangular table with a polished wood look. "Perhaps I will have him brought back in." He put both glasses on the table and made himself comfortable.

Deverell came over to join him. "You're seeing reason after all."

"I'm not having him adjusted." This was another word for rehabilitation therapy. Standard procedure in the Federation for those who were too valuable to be allowed to act too independently. The Guild had its own version but it accomplished the same goals.

"Then what?"

"He needs to feel our discipline."

Deverell was as ruthless as they came but the Guildmaster was on a different plane. "Are you going to tell him why you're bringing him in?"

"I always do. But he knows he has to come."

"I've never understood your relationship."

"You said that already."

"It still applies."

Venner rolled the glass between his hands and enjoyed the odour of the brandy as it warmed. "He comes to me because he needs to come to me. It's something he doesn't even try to fight."

"What do you want done with him when he arrives?"

"Prepare Chamber Five."

"Five? But that's for…" Deverell sat back and stared at Venner. He had meant for Sester to come back for rehabilitation, not punishment and certainly not this level of discipline.

"He's too strong to bend to anything less."

Deverell shuddered. "You allowed him to become more human and still he comes. That's incredible."

"That's why I'm not concerned about him. As long as he comes to me, I know that he still believes. And as long as he believes, he must come." He took a luxurious sip.

Deverell had already downed his in several large gulps.

Venner regarded this with amusement. "You're a philistine, Deverell. That's a two hundred year old brandy and you've barely tasted it."

"You drink your way, I'll drink mine." He eyed the decanter at the other end of the room. "You did well with him."

"I had a long time to work on him. He's very gifted."

"As are you, Guildmaster."

The Guildmaster smiled. "It wasn't that difficult. Part of him wanted what I offered. He has wanted it since he was a child. The privileges. Plus the challenges that will stretch his mind and abilities to their utmost." He took another sip. "Go ahead."

Deverell went to fill his glass. "He has quite the ego and he's a charming rascal. It's amazing that you were able to bend him to your will without breaking him." In his experience, someone with that strong a will, had to be broken first or they would be impossible to handle. He poured a double helping and went back to his seat. This time, he took the time to sniff the glass first.

"As I said, I was giving him what his heart wanted. He understood this on a subconscious level even while he was fighting me. _And_ he has a weakness, one that he does not understand. He has a need to love."

Deverell snorted. "A _human_ weakness."

"We are all human underneath, Deverell, no matter how far we've risen above it. Don't forget that. It's what makes Sester much more valuable and more effective than any of the psychostrategists this Guild has produced."

"You failed with…"

Venner's manner became ice cold. "Don't mention his name."

Even his oldest friend would not dare cross Venner once he drew a line. "Of course, Guildmaster." The name of the one who had left the Guildmaster was never to be mentioned again. His existence had been stricken from the Hall of Records. He had also been a favourite of the Guildmaster, until he ran.

"He was never as gifted as Charles. He felt threatened and his jealousy made him useless."

"He couldn't accept that you loved Charles more than you loved him."

"It is not a matter of love." Despite his fondness for the boy, Venner had always remained a deliberate distance between them.

"Of course, Guildmaster. My mistake." Deverell remembered the two young scoundrels. Their rivalry had turned the Guild upside down on several occasions. The discipline chambers had been very busy. "Sester has turned out quite ruthless despite the humanity that you've allowed him to keep."

"His humanity is bound to his identity with us. He cannot survive without either one. That was what I helped him to achieve. It is what sets him apart."

"What are you planning with him now, if you don't mind my asking?"

"He's integral to our long-term goals. All of the four boys are. Their ties have remained strong. They are very similar in many respects, each having a need to love that none of them understands. And despite the Federation's attempts to destroy that aspect of them." A ruthless smile curled the Guildmaster's lips. "And we will use this weakness which is their strength."

**********

Vila was trying to teach Corinne some of the finer points of pick pocketing, to ticklish results. She sashayed up behind him and bumped him 'accidentally'. As her hand dipped into his trouser pocket, she began to giggle.

He frowned. It was the seventh time and each had ended up with the same result. He was beginning to think that she wasn't cut-out to this particular life of crime. "Corinne, you have to take it seriously if you want to do it right."

"I know but…"

"What's the problem?"

Her eyes looked down at his pocket. "Well…when I'm reaching into _that_ pocket…" The beginnings of a flush reddened her cheeks. "…to be honest…I'm thinking about something else…lower."

"Oh." He followed her gaze, and then just a little lower. His eyes brightened. "Ohhh."

"You see my dilemma?"

"I see a lot of things down there."

Corinne leaned against him and continued looking. "Anything to do with pick-pocketing?"

"I'd have to think about it."

Corinne gave him a mock-punch to the arm. "You…"

Vila chuckled and put his arm around her. "No more pick-pocketing today. At least until I find some pockets that are less distracting."

"I want to go to the medical unit."

"Avon and Cally are in there."

"That's why I want to go. We haven't visited Cally since that time we saw them."

"That's all the more reason we shouldn't go. What if we catch them doing something?"

"Then we'll leave."

"On the other hand…"

Corinne took his hand and led him to the door. "You have far too many hands."

Vila grinned and followed her out.

**********

Avon perched on the edge of Cally's bed as he scrolled through a data pad. "The meters on this one are interesting. Complex rhyming patterns."

Cally looked over his shoulder and said decisively, "Not that one."

Scrolling through a few more, he stopped at another selection. "This one…"

"Not that one either."

Avon handed the data pad to her in frustration, "Which one then?"

Vila said as he entered, "Hello. What are we doing today?"

Cally glanced at her companion, "Avon is reading me some Terran poetry."

"Avon? Poetry?" There was a look of incomprehension on Vila's face. The two words didn't seem to fit together. Or they were threatening to make him laugh.

Avon looked at Cally. "That was my reaction."

"Then it's all the more reason to start. We can both learn about Terran poetry."

Avon grimaced faintly but he couldn't hide his lack of enthusiasm.

Cally asked, "You don't think it's a good idea?"

"Do you want a truthful answer?"

Vila smirked, "Avon would rather be dunked naked in a pot of boiling oil."

Avon' face was set in his most impassive and obstinate mode, with a faint hint of sarcasm. "I prefer to be fully clothed."

Cally sighed but she was just as determined as he was stubborn. She knew that he would do it for her sake and with some additional grumbling, but she wanted him to enjoy it as well. "Words can be very beautiful."

"Words convey information."

Corinne said, "Can't some information be beautiful?"

Avon looked at her with interest. "Some complex mathematical formulae can be considered 'beautiful'. For instance…."

Vila jumped in, "We believe you. We're actually here to visit Cally."

Avon said dryly, "I was beginning to think that you needed a map." Everyone on the ship had visited Cally over the last few days. Except Vila and Corinne.

"Well…the last time…." Vila lapsed into silence.

Corinne said, "We were here before but we didn't want to disturb you. You and Cally were…doing something."

Cally almost grinned. "Avon. Vila and Corinne saw us doing something that made them not want to disturb us."

"Ah. Perhaps you don't need a map."

Vila said, "I do have a pot of boiling oil somewhere."

Avon eyed the datapad as Cally scrolled through it. "Keep it handy."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Forty-Five

The Guildmaster seemed to fill the screen as Sester sat with formal attention. Venner's voice was terse and commanding. "I want you here within the week. You will stay five days. I will leave it to you what excuse you give to your employer and the people on the ship."

Sester's throat tightened. He could taste the beginnings of fear but he could not turn away, his master wanted to see his eyes when he answered.

He reached for the cold professionalism that always served him well. "I will be there within the week, sir."

"Good. You know that I don't like doing this but I have no choice."

"I understand, sir. I need no explanation."

After the communications had ended, Sester sat for a long time in the dark of his observer craft.

**********

Today was a big day. With a tie and a win by the women, the honour of the men was at stake. It was a politically charged situation that guaranteed full attendance by the entire ruling body of the Chandaran Senate, including Kirsten's father.

When Reya and the women of the Third Challenge arrived, it was to controlled chaos. The main Presidential hall of Chandar was lively with Senators, self-important functionaries and busy media people. Excitement and bravado seemed to be the order of the day. The men were certain and/or determined they were going to win.

There were murmurs of surprise and loud disapproval at the uniforms the women wore. They had duplicated the ones that had been given to them for the Second Challenge; the wine red that had become their banner of triumph.

Former President Brent said approvingly when Reya approached, "Good colours."

Reya said, "I hope it isn't _too_ subtle."

Brent chuckled as President Trist came over to greet them. "Interesting choice of uniform."

Reya bowed her head formally in welcome. "We thought so."

Even though Trist was the president now, Brent seemed more to fit the role. He had the easy flair of leadership where Trist was clearly only fulfilling the role because he felt he had no choice. People deferred to them both but Trist didn't seem to mind. If anyone suggested that Brent should take the role, Trist would probably jump at the chance.

The women huddled nervously together under the curious and often hostile stares directed at them. Heavily armed security personnel was visible everywhere. Everyone had been subjected to a weapons scanner before entering, to the strong protests of those who felt they had a right to bear arms at all times, but no one was taking any chances.

Kirsten's eyes kept returning nervously to the main doors as she kept up a light banter with the other women. Her father had not arrived yet.

She'd always been able to handle her father to some extent, enough to avoid being propertied off for political gain; humouring him and acting the proper submissive Chandaran female in order to avoid his wrath, all the while subtly manipulating him. She had not always succeeded. No amount of manoeuvring could change his obstinate attitudes about women. When he was angry, he could be an intimidating man and he had the power to make her life miserable.

Kirsten had never directly opposed her father before and it made her apprehensive that she was planning to do so now. She was used to deferring to him in all things, at least on the surface. Facing him with a mixture of fear and determination; playing a dangerous game with a man who saw her as his property. Most times deflecting his wrath and at others, she would deliberately provoke him, just to see him lose control even though it resulted in punishment for herself.

She had fought all of her life for the things that she had finally achieved this past month. No one was going to take them away from her, not even her father.

Sester's final words came to her._ Focus on what you need to do. Reduce it to a game in your mind. See nothing but the strategy, the goal and the pieces that need to be moved. Forget the who and focus on the what._

_Is that what you're doing now? _She had teased him, causing a look of annoyance on his face.

_It's what I always do._

There had been something odd about him though. He was distracted, distant. Not rising to her baits. He almost seemed anxious but she had a suspicion that it wasn't about the Challenge.

Senator Jernis swept into the room like a whirlwind of hostility. The tension level in the room instantly doubled. He was frustrated and outraged at the results of the Challenges so far. Several of his plans had been thwarted, due to judicious observations by the Athol surveillance teams and coordination with the President's security people.

Sester's estimation of the assassination attempt on Reya's life had not materialized but it wasn't from lack of trying on Jernis's part. At first, the Senator couldn't understand why support suddenly evaporated, or people could not be found when he needed them. After a while he knew and now he was livid.

Sester had been behind the entire thing. When he wasn't helping with training the women, he had been providing support to the surveillance teams with Argus and coordinating efforts with the President's men. Of course, under close supervision by the increasingly busy and now totally distracted Avon.

He had engineered the Senator's anger and frustration to a boiling point. Only Sester and Kirsten knew the true significance of what he had been doing, that there had been a different motivation other than the simple one of thwarting the Senator's plans.

Kirsten was about to put their plans into action. A man with her father's level of anger was dangerous, to both himself and the people around him. He could also be manipulated easily if you knew how. Kirsten had been doing it most of her life. Sester had built his strategies with this ability in mind.

The psychostrategist had introduced her to the world of wider implications. He showed her that she could do a lot more with her abilities than simply reacting in the moment and for limited personal considerations. With the right strategy, she could affect the fates of all of the women.

With both trepidation and firm resolve, she went to face the man who was her father.

Jernis's moustache twitched as he spotted her approaching. He said with harsh, unwelcoming tones, "Get back to your position, woman."

Kirsten maintained coolly respectful. "Father. I have something to say, and then I will go."

He waved his hands in casual dismissal. "I have no interest in anything you would have to say."

Kirsten knew that one of her first challenges would be to get her father to take her seriously. He saw her as a female, and thus not worthy of his attention, but in his eyes, she was also his child.

Reya noticed Kirsten talking to the volatile Senator and began edging towards them.

Kirsten said, "You might want to hear this, father. I think you'll find it interesting."

Jernis stared at her, unsure of how to respond. Her words and manner were still somewhat respectful but she was no longer acting the intimidated child. "Speak."

"I wish to leave Chandar, father."

This was an inconceivable concept to Jernis. He asked in confusion, "What do you mean leave?"

"After the Challenges, I'm not coming back to Chandar."

The full impact of what she was saying suddenly hit her. _I don't have to be afraid of you anymore, I am __**not**__ coming back._

"We'll see about that!" Jernis grabbed for her arm as if to restrain her but suddenly Reya stepped in between them. The look in her eyes was icy and dangerous. "What is the problem here, Senator?"

"It's all your fault! You and your treacherous ideas! I should kill you!"

Reya said evenly, "I believe you've tried several times."

Jernis froze and then he glanced around nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about."

There was a faint hint of sarcasm in Reya's tone but she kept a professionally polite manner. "I'm sure you don't."

Jernis's voice was full of harsh accusation. "Did you put her up to this?"

Reya turned to Kirsten in query.

The Chandaran woman continued with her respectful daughter routine even as her words put her further away from him. "I told my father that I was going to ask for asylum and that I wasn't coming back to Chandar. I thought it only proper to inform him as he _is_ my father."

Reya's eyes widened imperceptibly at the young woman's brash action but she maintained her composure. She held Kirsten's eyes briefly and then she turned to Jernis. This was an issue that had to be addressed eventually, though she would have preferred at a more controlled time and with someone less hostile. "Kirsten is correct, Senator. She has asked for asylum with us and we are inclined to grant her request. I apologize that you had to find out this way. We are preparing a petition for your President to consider."

"That's preposterous! I will not agree to this! Kirsten is coming back with me!"

"I beg to differ, Senator Jernis. Until the Challenges end, Kirsten and the other women are protected by Challenge protocol. Once she requests asylum, she will be protected by _me_. As Champion, I have certain responsibilities as you know. Any Chandaran can petition a Champion for protection if there has been a miscarriage of justice."

The Senator's eyes seemed to bulge from his head at this statement. He said with tight anger, "_That does not apply to women_."

"Do I have to remind you, Senator, that none of your laws specifically exclude women?" Reya could imagine that the Senator was going to march straight out and make sure that all Chandaran laws be changed to close this loophole.

"I will not agree to this!"

Reya was a rock of calm against his rushing anger. "Are you saying that you are not agreeing to your own laws, Senator?"

President Trist came over, expecting to have to adjudicate. "Can I be of assistance?"

Jernis said, "Mr. President, have you heard what they're going to do?"

"I'm sure you're going to tell me."

"Your Champion is going to grant asylum to _my daughter_. She's under some ridiculous notion that I can't treat my property any way I want."

Trist nodded gravely as he considered this. "It does fall within the rules and privileges governing Champions. She does have the right and the responsibility."

Reya said, "I pointed out to the Senator that your laws do not explicitly exclude women."

"You are right within the letter of the law."

Jernis protested forcefully, "It's a technicality!"

Trist had the reputation of a man who kept strictly to the law. Amongst the Champions, he was its guardian. "It is the law, Senator and we must maintain the law."

Reya said, "We understand that some of your people would not be agreeable to this. You consider your women as property and losing them would be losing an asset. We are prepared to compensate you for any apparent loss. Within limits, of course. The Tellarans have agreed to pay the price for whichever woman requests asylum."

Kirsten jumped on this. "No!"

They all turned to her in surprise.

Jernis said, "Are you coming to your senses?"

Kirsten had been standing behind Reya but she stepped forward. "I am, father. That is why I wish to be free. However, I will not be bought and sold like a slave. Not even for my freedom."

Reya said, "Kirsten…" This was what they had all planned. What was this woman doing?

"I'm sorry, Champion Reya but that is how I feel."

Jernis said, "Then you are coming back with me."

"No, father."

President Trist asked, "What is it you wish to do, Kirsten?"

"I wish to earn my freedom."

Trist asked, "You mean through the Challenges?"

"No. I wish to earn my freedom from my father."

Jernis said with lips deformed by a sneer, "What nonsense is this?"

Kirsten took a quick, deep breath. "I know that you don't like what's been happening with the Challenges, father. You most likely feel that the men who've been fighting us are inadequate in some way."

"Them?" Jernis snorted, "Even I could do better. If this were a _real_ Challenge…"

Kirsten's heart leapt in triumph but she was careful not to show any reaction. "Then take their place, father. You were a fleet Captain once. I am willing to face you in combat. For my freedom."

Jernis thought quickly and then a sly smile spread across his face. He faced Trist, "If the President is agreed to the change, then I would be more than willing to take command in this contest."

Trist said, "Champion Reya, are you agreed? Senator Jernis is one of our renowned fleet captains. Facing him will be very different from facing those on the men's team."

Kirsten touched Reya's elbow.

Reya said, "I would like a moment to consult."

"By all means."

**********

There was a displeased frown on Reya's face, "Alright, what's going on? What has Sester been up to?"

Kirsten nodded. "He said that you would guess he was behind this."

"He did, did he?"

"He also said to ask you to trust him. He said that this will achieve a much better result than your plans."

Reya scowled. "He told you to keep it a secret?"

Kirsten looked down. "Yes. He said…that you likely won't agree if we told you what we were planning."

"And he would be right. This is a big risk that we _don't_ have to take. Jernis is a fleet captain."

"We knew that. Sester has been preparing me."

Reya felt like doing something very painful to Sester but she pushed down her anger and remained controlled. "The three of us are going to sit down and have a serious talk after this."

"So you're agreed then?"

"Have the two of you left me any choice? We can't be seen to be the ones to back down. It will weaken our already weaker position."

Kirsten said fiercely, "I'm going to _win_, Reya."

Reya wished she had the woman's confidence. "We're counting on you."

**********

After they returned, Reya said to Trist and Jernis, "I am agreed to this change."

Jernis smirked. "Prepare to lose then."

Kirsten said, "I would like to make one more request."

This time Reya stared at her. What else were these two up to?

President Trist asked, "What would you like to say, Kirsten?"

"I would like to know what the results would be with this new change."

Trist said, "You will obtain your freedom. This was already referred to earlier. You wished to fight your father in order to earn the right to chose."

Kirsten nodded. "But I don't feel right about using my friends."

"You can't run the ship without them."

"And I can't ask them to fight just so that I can be free."

Trist said gravely, "I see."

Kirsten turned to Jernis. "Father, in your eyes, women aren't worth anything. And I'm sure that you consider yourself worth more than a hundred women."

Everyone looked at Jernis, wondering how he would react.

Jernis's eyes narrowed. There was no question that he felt himself worth thousands of women at least. However, to acknowledge this would mean that Kirsten would demand the freedom of the other women as well. "You want me to free all of them if you win?"

"Yes, father."

"Agreed."

There were astounded faces all around but Kirsten suppressed a feeling of satisfaction. She knew why her father had agreed, he didn't think he could lose.

**********

The _Justice_ was parked in the middle of nowhere; namely, a half hour's distance from the region of space mapped out for the final Challenge. The ships on both sides were far enough away from the field that no one could be accused of interfering with the contest.

Argus grumbled, "Was it really necessary for us to be way out here?"

Vila said as he passed around a tray of colourful drinks, "You'd think they didn't trust us." He and Corinne had been experimenting with the beverage dispensers and they had whipped up a few special ones for the occasion.

Avon had almost buried one of the couches in comfortable pillows so that Cally could lie restfully while they watched the final Challenge on the main viewscreen. He hovered nearby, presumably in case she didn't have enough pillows. "They don't."

Vila held out the tray to Argus. Eying the far-too fruity-looking drinks (some had little umbrellas in them!) with scepticism, he said, "Thanks but no thanks. I'll just have some water. I don't drink when I'm on duty."

"You're not working. You're part of the audience."

Argus scowled slightly, with the duty sergeant taking the flight deck shift, he couldn't even claim that as an excuse.

Pointing to a glass filled with light green liquid, Vila said, "Try this one. You'll like it. I call it, 'The Champion'."

"Oh?" Argus picked it up and held it up to the light. There were swirls of dark green snaking through it. "What's in it?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you," Vila said with a big grin. "But what's life without a little danger?"

Argus said, "I wouldn't know." He downed the drink and nearly choked as daggers of ice seemed to spear his brain. When he could finally speak, he wheezed, "What…is this?"

"Eye of newt, toe of frog, wool of bat…"

Avon said in a not-too-pleased tone, "That's Macbeth."

Cally said, "You see, Avon. It wasn't a total waste of two hours of your life." Rather than make Avon read poetry to her, she had persuaded him that a play might be more interesting and would serve as a good interactive activity.

Avon said dryly, "I don't consider this adequate proof that it wasn't."

Vila had a puzzled expression on his face, "What's Macbeth? I heard it on an old vid-program. It was about witches and…"

Avon said pointedly to Cally, "You were saying?"

Argus was still trying to unfreeze his brain. "Can someone explain to me what all this has to do with what I was asking?"

Avon said, "Nothing. It was only Vila's poor approximation of humour."

Vila asked Argus, "Do you like it?"

"Ask me when my brain is talking to me again."

The unusually silent Sester had been staring intently at the viewscreen that was picking up the broadcast. "It's started."

Chapter Forty-Six

The two ships of the Challenge stalked each other like flying predators, each determined to possess this territory as their own. They hid in amongst the broken pieces of a dead planet that had exploded millennia ago. It was a graveyard of odd items, including the burnt out husks of abandoned ships destroyed during the alien invasion. There were denser areas of debris, like a swarm of intergalactic garbage, dangerous if you didn't have a good pilot with sharp eyes and ever-quicker reflexes. Pieces of old ships and machinery of a once thriving civilization still carried charges and heat signatures, confusing any scanner readings. With the interference, long-range communications was sporadic. The ships were truly on their own.

Weapons had been disabled and special low yield ones installed. Additional hull sensors approximated real damage when weapons hits were registered, artificially disabling ship systems. The fight between the opponents was to be non-lethal but any mistakes in manoeuvring amongst the wrecks of forgotten humanity could prove fatal.

**********

Vila's neck was craned towards the screen. His hand gripped his glass tightly and he unconsciously swerved along with the movements of the ship on the screen.

So far, neither side had gained the advantage. Jernis kept up constant attacks but Kirsten managed to avoid most of them. Her ship had only fired a few, almost tentative shots. At first, she seemed more interested in running and avoiding trouble but soon it became apparent that Jernis was becoming increasingly frustrated by his inability to beat her. In his experience, when your enemy ran, it was because they were defeated or it was a trap. But Kirsten was doing neither. She was taunting him. Jernis wasn't used to an opponent who ran as a form of offence.

"Oh…don't do that!" Vila nearly spilled his drink.

The women's ship had entered one of the large clouds of debris. It stretched the area of several Earth moons and obscured them from normal vision.

Argus said, "That should be thick enough in there to confuse scanners."

Avon had pulled up a chair and was sitting next to Cally. "_Their_ scanners will be blind as well."

"They'll have to rely on their eyes then."

Vila had a bad feeling. He had visions of another time when he'd been dragged through a dangerous meteor storm over his protests. They'd barely escaped with their lives. But at least the objects in this debris field weren't hurtling towards them at missile-like speeds.

They saw Senator Jernis's ship swing around and increase to maximum speed.

Sester was still unusually quiet but his fingers played along the top edge of the couch.

Argus said, "He's going to try to intercept them on the other side."

Avon made some calculations on his datapad. "According to my estimates, at the increased speed, he should be well into his reserves by the time he reaches the other side.

Vila asked, "That soon?"

A smile touched Argus's lips. "She let him use up his power."

Avon did a few more calculations. "Yes…but the women will also require additional power to get through that concentration of debris."

Argus said, "They would have to increase shield strength."

Vila asked, "So it depends on who has more power once they reach the other side?"

When Avon seemed too preoccupied to answer, Argus asked, "Well?"

"They should have more than enough."

Vila said admiringly, "Oh, that's good."

Avon said, "Barring any unforeseen circumstances…"

Vila grimaced, "I wish you hadn't said that."

Argus suddenly popped up out of his seat and stared hard at the screen. Half a dozen ships had appeared and were headed towards the Challenge field. He raced to his flight station. "Zen, engines to maximum. Navigation and battle computers online." Avon and Vila were a step behind to theirs.

"Plot course to intercept Jernis's ship. Standard by twelve. Now."

"Confirmed."

The ship pulsed with silent energy as it reached full power. The main viewscreen still showed the Challenge broadcast. The ships were surrounding Jernis.

Vila asked, "How do we know they're hostile?"

The ships began firing.

"Never mind."

Jernis's ship flared as the blasts hit his shields. Avon was checking readings at his station.

"Avon, at maximum speed, how long?"

"Twenty two minutes."

Vila said nervously, "I hope they can hang on."

Avon said, "It would be safer for the women to stay in the debris field until we arrive."

Cally tried to sit up but her wound was still tender and she had to lie back down. "What about the other ship?"

Avon kept an eye on her movements. "What about them?"

"They need help too."

With icy logic, Avon said, "By the time we get there, they'll most likely be destroyed."

Argus said, "Zen, what is the maximum speed of this ship, beyond the safety measures?"

Avon turned to him. "You're not serious?"

"I don't see that we have any choice."

"Yes, we do. We will arrive in time to save the women."

Zen responded, "The highest speed possible at maximum design tolerance levels is standard by fifteen."

Avon said, "That will require manual override of the fail-safes. There will be no margin for error and the engines may suffer a catastrophic meltdown."

Vila looked pained. "Who thinks that's a bad idea?" He lifted his hand.

Argus was itching to go. In space combat, every delay could have deadly consequences. But he could not risk the life of his crew either. "Avon, you monitor ship's status. If the she looks like she can't handle it, we'll drop back to twelve. Alright?"

Given a choice, Avon agreed. "Alright."

"Disable the fail-safes."

Avon headed for the engine room.

Argus asked, "Any other objections?"

Sester still said nothing but there was a faint look of expectation in his eyes.

**********

All of the women looked apprehensively at the screen as dozens of pieces of space debris passed inches from their hull. They were travelling along the inner edge of this concentration of wreckage rather than through it to the other side. The plan was to come up behind the other ship, when they least expected and hit them with a full spread of photon blasts before they could bring their shields up.

Some of the women from the other Challenge groups were also present. They all wanted to be at the final contest.

Alara asked nervously, "When can we get out of here?" Something that looked like a large piece of machinery, half the size of their ship, had passed too close for comfort.

Kirsten looked down at her flight panel. "This should be long enough. They should be on their way. Adair, ease us out of here."

The ship moved towards a less cluttered section of debris. Everyone held their breaths as they neared the edge. Would their opponent be waiting for them?

Sentha leaned forward, her eyes squinting as she caught sight of a shape, "There's a ship out there!"

They all leaned towards the screen in alarm, fear touching their faces. Kirsten shouted, "Slow to a third impulse!"

"They're waiting for us?" asked Alara.

Sentha turned to face their leader. "They _must_ know we're here."

Kirsten tried to check her scanners but they were still obscured by the mass of debris. Had she guessed wrong about her father? Had he done the unexpected?

For some reason, Sester's words came to her. _When the time comes, I want you to think very carefully about what you're going to do._

_What does that mean? _

A fleeting grin lightened a face that seemed to have forgotten how to smile_. For once, I have you confused? _

_Don't get used to it. _

He leaned forward and brushed her lips lightly with his. _Remember what I said when the time comes._

Kirsten thought carefully. They still had the ship. It was undamaged and their energy banks should be comparable to her father's ship. It was still an even fight. This was no time to give up. She may have been wrong about this strategy but all of the other ones had worked so far.

Adair asked, "What are we going to do now?"

Kirsten's voice was strong. "Nothing's changed. We still have a fight to win. Adair, on my command, head straight for them. Maximum speed. Charon, full spread on the photons the moment we clear the edge. Concentrate power on forward shields. Ready?"

There was a chorus of replies. "Ready."

"On my mark. Three, two, one….mark!"

The ship jumped forward.

**********

The ship cleared the dense field and everyone was prepared to come out fighting …except suddenly they were facing two unknown ships. Collective eyes widened in shock. A short distance off, they could see Senator Jernis's ship surrounded, its hull had been breached in several places and fire could be seen through emergency containment fields.

Kirsten shouted, "Full shields!" Someone hit several buttons on her control panel.

Alara's forehead wrinkled. "The markings…those are Thyssen Alliance ships." The Thyssens were mortal enemies of the Chandaran Alliance. Although, as almost every alliance in that corner of the Sector were enemies of each other, this wasn't surprising. And they all shot first and couldn't be bothered to ask questions.

The women waited but nothing happened.

Sentha asked in mystification, "What are they waiting for? Why aren't they firing at us?"

Despite the shock, Kirsten forced herself to remain calm. There wasn't time to think about why this was happening. All that was important was that these were enemy ships, though their own ship didn't seem to be in any immediate danger.

_Why aren't they firing at us? It's almost as if_…. _They know our weapons are disabled? _But her father's ship was too. Unless they were going to take care of them one at a time, which seemed a waste if neither of them had functional weapons. Or her father may have provoked them in some way. That would be just like him. Her ship might not be in danger but her father clearly was.

Jernis's ship fired two plasma bolts at its attackers.

Sentha asked suspiciously, "I thought they weren't supposed to have weapons?"

Kirsten said, "They didn't remove them. They just locked the command codes out."

Alara said, "Then someone must have given them the code."

"Or they bypassed it." Kirsten wished they had enough skill to do that for their ship. Having someone like Avon around would have been very useful.

Sentha said, "That explains why they're not bothering with us yet. We're no threat to them."

Alara was still troubled. "That doesn't mean they won't be after us once they destroy the other ship."

Kirsten was looking at her father's ship worriedly. It didn't look like it would last long under the bombardment. Her father was going to die if he didn't get help.

Why should she care that her father was going to be destroyed? Didn't he deserve it? Hadn't he made her life miserable? Didn't he treat her as little more than property? Inferior in every way? Most of the men of the Challenge weren't much better. Except maybe Brady. He seemed a decent sort, for a Chandaran male. She would feel sorry if he died. But why did she also feel…

_When the time comes, I want you to think very carefully about what you're going to do._

_Think carefully_. Suddenly Kirsten knew that she couldn't let her father die. No matter what he was or what he had done to her in the past, she couldn't let him face these overwhelming odds alone. She might hate him, she might want to leave and never see him again, but she could not sit by and let these people kill him.

Kirsten's eyes swept across the flight deck. The women were anxious and afraid. This wasn't just a contest anymore; there was a real chance of dying. "I…don't know how the rest of you feel, but that's my father out there." She still couldn't believe she was saying this. "No matter how he's treated me, I can't let him die. But I can't save him without your help. I know what I'm asking…I know it's going to be dangerous but..."

Sentha said, "Are you crazy? After what they've done to us? Why should we risk our lives for them? I say, we go back into the debris field and wait it out. Help must be coming soon."

Alara said, "Brady's on that ship. I…don't want him to die. Even if we don't want to save any of the others, we should save him. He's a good man."

Sentha said, "But it's dangerous and we don't even have weapons. What can we do? You're just going to get us killed."

Kirsten's mind was working even faster as she pursed her lips. "We only have to hold out until help comes." She looked down at the chronometer reading on her panel. "Assuming the attack started shortly after we went into the field…then the ships should be here in another nine minutes."

"That's a big assuming," said Sentha.

"We can still see my father's ship. That means that they must have been attacked right after we entered the field."

"Or your father was waiting for us."

"It doesn't matter which. Our shields are fully functional. We should be able to hold out."

Sentha said sceptically, "Yeah, but how long?"

Kirsten said, "The men think that we're nothing. Not even capable of honour and courage. They think we know nothing about nobility and strength of character. They think that without them, we'll fall apart and can't even take care of ourselves. We've been showing them how wrong they are. But there is one thing we haven't shown them yet."

**********

Vila said in astonishment, "What's she doing?" The women's ship had moved between the main attacking force and the men's ship.

Sester finally spoke, "She's using her ship as a physical shield. They're going to protect the Senator's ship until we can get there."

_When the time comes_…There was a faintly pleased look on his face but his head was turned so that the others couldn't see it. Everyone was performing exactly as he had calculated they would.

Argus said, "Zen, time to intercept?"

"Six minutes thirty-two seconds."

"Avon, how are we doing on the engines?"

"Stress levels increasing."

"Is it still within tolerance?"

Though he didn't show it, Avon had been increasingly concerned. They were skirting too close to the maximum the ship could withstand before stress fractures began to appear in the engine casing. They should drop speed now before they reached that point. He glanced at the screen and the desperate situation. The women were making a stand of courage for people who considered them inferior and treated them as little more than property; tools to be used for someone else's agenda. There was a slight grimace on his face. "For now."

**********

Senator Jernis appeared on the women's viewscreen. Emergency lights from his ship flickered in shadows across his face. A bleeding wound on his shoulder looked painful. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get out of here!" Behind him was smoke and flashes of a ship slowly falling apart.

Kirsten said, "We're here to help, father."

"I don't need your help!"

"It's a good thing for you that I'm not listening to you anymore then."

Plasma bolts hit the women's ship. Everyone grabbed onto something.

Jernis saw this and said, "Your ship is useless. Get out of the way before you get yourselves killed!"

"That's the idea, father. We're going to stand between you and the Thyssens until help arrives. Try to move behind us to the debris field."

A bolt hit Jernis's ship, cutting off their comm connection. A part of the weapons array broke off from his ship and drifted away. More bolts rocked Kirsten's ship.

One of the women reported, "We're down to thirty-percent on forward shields."

"Re-route all non-essential power to shields."

"How?"

They all looked at each other. This was not covered in their training. Avon's simulators had given them the essentials on handling a ship but nothing that required understanding of how the ship worked.

Kirsten asked, "Computer, can you re-route all non-essential power to forward shields?"

The male computer voice responded, "Yes."

"Then do it."

There was a look of relief on the women's faces.

"Leeta, how are the shields?"

"Forward is back up to sixty percent."

"Not good but better than thirty."

Alara asked nervously, "How long do you think we'll last?"

"Hopefully long enough." Kirsten was getting anxious at the non-appearance of help. It seemed like a long time had passed but her panel told her that it had only been a couple of minutes since they had used themselves as a shield for her father's ship.

Senator Jernis appeared on the screen again. The jagged metal edge of a ceiling panel hung down near where he was standing. There were scratches on his cheek. "Why are you doing this?"

Kirsten said, "Someone has to give me my freedom."

"You don't need me alive to do that and don't think that you're going to get away that easily."

"You're right, I don't. Now shut up and let me save you." Kirsten broke off the connection. More plasma bolts hit them hard, sending women flying. One of the panels sparked and exploded.

**********

Shields were almost gone on the women's ship. Fires raged inside their engine nacelles. Senator Jernis's ship was starting to break up but because of the women's protection, all of his crew had managed to get to life pods.

Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, the _Justice_ swept in like the ancient cavalry, with neutron blasters blazing. It was an inspiring sight on all vid-screens within broadcast range.

The crew made short work of the enemy, disabling most of them and destroying one. The few that could still move, limped away at sub-light speed. It was over in a matter of minutes, leaving nothing but clean up for the Chandaran ships that arrived late on the scene.

Enterprising merchants were already planning detailed replicas of the _Justice _and the two Challenge ships; both before and after versions, complete with simulated fires and detachable life pods.

Sester was still unusually silent. The final step in his plan was still to materialize. A great deal had been accomplished and Kirsten and the women had performed exceedingly well, but Sester was not satisfied yet. One more thing needed to happen.

**********

Reya was waiting for the women as they came off the transport shuttles, some on foot, others on automated medical stretchers. The normally cold woman was full of warmth as she greeted each one personally, extending her congratulations and pride to all of them and making sure that they were being taken care of.

Kirsten and her father came down the ramp. His face was pale and he lay covered in blood while Kirsten followed beside him.

Jernis opened his eyes and saw her looking down at him. Kirsten didn't know what to expect. Would he be the father she always knew or had this experienced changed him?

His voice conveyed very little emotion. "You stayed?"

"I couldn't very well save you if I left," she said quietly.

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes reflecting a confusing mixture of uncertain hostility, disbelief at what had happened and hesitant gratitude. "You would have made a good son."

"I make a good daughter, father."

Hard tension tightened Jernis's jaw. He was the kind of man who was too stubborn and proud to change even against the face of overwhelming evidence. "I will never see things your way."

"I know that, father."

For good or bad, Jernis was a true Chandaran; he was moved by displays of courage and nobility. Even from his own daughter. "You have won your freedom."

"What about the others?"

"I will keep my promise. I will make sure that they will be allowed to go free."

"Thank you, father."

"If you leave, you will no longer be my daughter."

"Father…" This was the final break and unexpectedly, Kirsten had pangs of regret. Not because she would miss the life here but because Jernis was the only family she had known. He may have been the source of her greatest miseries but he had taken care of her all of her life, at least in the only manner he was capable of towards her. "I understand, Senator."

Chapter Forty-Seven

The Shade lab was antiseptic and cold but Jenna was boiling with anger. "Why didn't you tell me what you were doing?"

Morten, the head of the enforcers, was a career criminal that the Shade organization charged with protecting its interests and expanding their power base. He would do whatever was necessary, no questions asked.

The enforcer was a deceptively formal and polite man who spoke with the chill of death on his lips. His hair was jet black and slicked back. He had long slender, sensitive fingers like an artist, but his talent was for death and mayhem.

He spoke in a low, raspy voice. "Your role here is to establish Shade production and distribution. _Mine_ is to make sure that you succeed. You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I answer to you."

The dripping of water from a nearby pipe grated on Jenna's stretched nerves. "I certainly don't answer to you."

The enforcer's lips pulled back in a death's head smile. "That's true, you don't. We both answer to a higher power."

The frosty air of the lab seemed to pass right through Jenna's clothes, sending a shiver up her spine. "I answer to no one. This is just a temporary arrangement for profit."

"Why do you think I'm here?"

Jenna had the sick feeling that the situation had spiralled out of control when she wasn't looking. "I did not agree to this."

"You did when you agreed to work with us." Morten leaned on the railing with his elbows as he surveyed the lab techs below. His words were courteous, but there was an undercurrent of menace to everything he said. "You may have supplied this place and the information we needed to operate more effectively here. But don't forget that _you're_ the one who needs us. We could do the same thing without you. Only a little slower. You have no influence on how we operate. If you keep your part of the agreement, you receive a percentage of the profits. That is how it works. The rest is none of your concern and I strongly suggest that you keep it that way, for your sake and the sake of the people on your ship."

Jenna was never one to appear weak before anyone. "I don't respond very well to threats."

Morten was the kind of man whose smiles never touched his eyes. "Did I say it was a threat? Remember that _we_ have this base now."

His meaning was very clear. _They no longer need me. _Jenna wished she were wearing something warmer. It was far too cold in the lab. _Morten must have orders to kill us if we interfere. It's a warning, not a threat. We were only valuable as long as they needed us. I was a fool to think that I would be controlling them._

The image of Rane plagued her. His gaunt, pale face. His laboured breathing. Curled up in a ball, his body wracked by pain that made her wince. She had tried to force him to take the Shade but his anger had stopped her. _Friends don't force each other, Jenna. If you have ever considered me as your friend, then respect my wishes. _Each word had been a stab of accusation. She could still feel the blades of guilt as they churned in her stomach.

_I betrayed our friendship for nothing_. _I thought I was doing the right thing. _

The weeks of lies and manipulation. Pretending that she was helping when in fact she was leading his men nowhere. It had all worked out perfectly. She was amassing a small personal fortune, far greater than the one she had lost many years ago. Soon she would have enough to resources to become a real threat.

She already had enough for her revenge. All the people were in place. The rebel leaders had all been contacted.

Then why couldn't she sleep at night? Why did all food taste like dust to her? Why was her mind burning up with opposing thoughts and conflicted feelings?

_It was all justified, wasn't it? The Cause will be advanced. We're one step closer to winning. That's all that matters. Isn't it?_

_Blake I need you! I need you to tell me what I did was right. _Everything had been so clear when Blake was around. He had been her Rock at times when all seemed lost and a whirlwind that threatened to knock down everything in his path. When he said it was right, it washed away all her doubts, the voices of guilt faded away under his belief. He had believed. He thought he had no choice but to believe.

Rane's emaciated image mouthed silent words to her. His image was becoming a skull in her mind. _What about me, Jenna? Are you going to forget me? Just like you've done with all the others? How many, Jenna? How many friends have you betrayed like this? _The knives churned in her stomach. Jenna grimaced and tightened her grip on the railing. Would these be the words Rane would say to her if he knew?

_Do you even feel guilty anymore? Or can you sweep it all away because it's it all justified? You have your money now. You can accomplish your goals. Take it and go. _

This was why she had left Blake in the first place. The blood had become too much. She was drowning in it, all for the sake of doing what was right. Ever since she joined Blake. _All of those innocent people. _The ones they blew up. The ones they sacrificed. She hadn't wanted to make friends any more, only to betray them with lies when they didn't want to be led to their deaths.

_They're our friends, Blake._

_It will be worth it in the end, Jenna. You'll see. Once we win, they'll all see that I was right._

However, she had loved Blake and she had not wanted to stop loving him. She had not wanted to stop believing in him. That was why she had left, because loving Blake meant doing what he wanted, and she couldn't do it anymore.

From a distance, she could still love the legend, the man of passion and compassion that she had admired. But Blake had felt that the only way to fight the Federation, to fight fire, was with fire. It was an old adage that had survived the millennia but she had never understood the human cost.

In her blind vengeance and guilt, she had almost forgotten how it had ended between them.

_I can't be like you, Blake. Not anymore. I'm not strong enough. I can't look past…my friend. No more Ranes, not because of me._

Morten was looking at her strangely. Jenna relaxed the stranglehold she had on the rail and said, "You're right. I should mind my own business."

_I will take the money and run. Do what I set out to. Destroy Avon and fund the Resistance. _

"I like you, Jen, you're a smart woman but don't try to cross the organization. I'd hate to have to be the one to kill you."

"But you'd do it."

"I'm glad we understand each other."

She had to fix the damage she had already done.

"One of the people you poisoned is a friend of mine."

Morten sighed like a man with too many burdens. "Then I understand. It's an ugly business we're in. Sometimes friends have to be sacrificed. We don't have a choice."

"I know it would be a big favour to ask but…"

"You want me to spare his life?"

"How did you know it was a he?" she asked guardedly.

The enforcer made a small gesture with his hand, "I assumed."

_He must think that I'm doing this for a lover or someone very close to me._

"I'll make sure he will no longer be a threat to the organization. Just name your price. As you said, I have the credits now."

Morten smiled but sadness touched his eyes. "No money would be enough."

"But…"

"You don't understand, Jen. There is no cure."

_There is only slavery._ "He's going to die."

"I'm sorry. There's nothing anyone can do for him. I suggest that you go to him while he still has time left."

Jenna bowed her head, her throat was tight with an anguish that robbed her of further words. She turned to leave but Morten stopped her.

"Take my advice, Jen. Take your money and get out while you can. You're not ruthless, like most of the people I work with. You can't stomach what we need to do. You're still a decent human being."

"What about you?"

Morten had a strange barking laugh. "I've never been a decent human being. I will do whatever it takes to get the job done."

"It's never too late."

"It's my _choice_ but it doesn't have to be yours. I don't know what your agenda was when you sought us out, Jen. I know you had one. It's written all over you. But nothing is worth the price of not being able to sleep at night."

Jenna nodded and left the labs. The price was already being paid.

Rane said that the _Justice_ was coming. She could try to help them destroy the Shade organization on Athol. All they needed was her information. Maybe with ORAC's help, they could find the antidote. It was the only hope. Perhaps they'd be able to save Shade users everywhere. It might be able to ease her conscience somewhat. She hoped that Rane would be able to hold out.

As she stepped into the night air, the coldness of the lab fell away. There was one goal she would not give up on though, Avon had to die. She was certain that she would lose no sleepless nights over what she was planning to do to him.

**********

Long blue crest banners lined the walls of the Presidential Hall. The air was filled with hushed and excited conversations. Almost everyone wore formal military dress uniforms. Even the women had on the wine red that had become their signature colour. Reya had the Champions emblem over her left breast, the Chandaran crest cradled in strong, protective hands. The President and various functionaries stood on a large raised podium.

Reya maintained polite interest throughout the proceedings as Senators and other officials had their moments in the spotlight. This was a Sector-wide broadcast after all.

In reality, Reya was meditating on the universal need of all politicians to give long, boring, and self-gratifying speeches. She never understood the necessity herself and from the rigid expression on President Trist's face, neither did he.

When the last painful verbal sacrifice to ceremony had been performed, President Trist stood up and with formal gravity, held his hands out for attention. "Champion Reya, will you and your team approach?"

Reya led her group up to stand proud before the Chandaran President.

Trist said, "Champion Reya, when you first had the audacity to challenge us, there was a great deal of hostility and scepticism. Despite what we witnessed you doing, no one believed that women could compete with men. Many didn't think they deserved to stand on the same field. But you have proven us all wrong. In the space of a month, you've trained women who could not only stand with a man but beat him."

The crowd began to whisper amongst themselves.

Trist passed his eyes over the assembly. "I know that no one wants to admit it, but no one can deny what we all saw. Do you have anything to say before I declare the winner of this contest?"

Reya stepped forward and bowed her head formally. "President Trist. It is the women of your planet who deserve all of the credit. If they had not been capable of this in the first place, no amount of training would have helped. You have incredible women here."

"We are beginning to see that," he said gravely. "There are several matters to be taken care of today. First, the Three Challenges. The First Challenge was a draw. The women won the Second one and as for the Third,…I think we can all agree that there were, shall we say, _unique_ circumstances. For the results of that one, I will leave to a special presenter, Senator Jernis."

Kirsten started and there were oohs of surprise as her father was rolled in on a wheelchair. His right side was immobilized in a sling and bandages were wrapped around his head. A hush descended as he was brought up to the platform.

Jernis was pale but his eyes were bright with determination. "For those who were wondering, I am _not_ dead. Just a few _minor_ scratches but I'll be around making trouble for many years to come."

Good-natured laughter filled the Hall. Everyone was well versed in the Senator's trouble-making capacity.

"But we are not here to talk about me. I would be the last one to admit that a woman could be the equal of a man. And I still will not." The audience seemed to be holding their breaths, wondering how much mischief he was about to perpetrate now. "But, as the President has noted, we cannot deny what we all witnessed with our own eyes. Even an old codger like me, since I was there. I will not say that women are equal to men but…I will say that it is _extremely_ gratifying to know that our women are better than the Thyssen men."

The Hall burst into uproarious laughter. When it began to die down, he said to the women, "You acquitted yourselves with skill and distinction in all three Challenges. And for better or worse, and over the protests and antagonism of many, including myself, you've given us all a different perspective of the women of this planet."

There were reactions of surprise.

"I don't thank you but it would be small-minded of me to dismiss it." He seemed to brace himself as he turned back to the audience. "On behalf of the men's team and the adjudicators, I declare that the women are the winners of the Three Challenges."

There was stunned silence. Not because they didn't expect the results, but it was Jernis who was saying this. Scatterings of applause broken the silence but became louder as President Trist and all of the Champions added their congratulations.

Jernis held up his hand. "I'm not finished." His eyes sought out his daughter. "Kirsten, stand forward."

Kirsten took a few steps forward. Father and daughter stared at each other for a few moments. They seemed like two people who had become strangers but were trying to find a connection again.

"I made an agreement with you and I am a man of my word. I declare before this assembly and all of the Chandar Alliance that you and the women with you have won your freedom."

"Thank you…father." She waited apprehensively, wondering if he would berate her for calling him father again.

Jernis stared at her for what seemed a long time; until there were restless rustlings in the audience. President Trist cleared his throat and was about to say something but Jernis finally said, "I still do not understand what happened in the Third Challenge, but I am grateful to you for staying. If it weren't for you, we would all be dead."

"It wasn't just me. It was all of us."

The next words came from reluctant lips. "All of you showed a great deal of courage by staying when you had no weapons to face the enemy."

There were excited murmurings in the crowd.

"Had the situation been reversed, I'm not sure if I would have done the same. You showed a nobility of character and degree of loyalty that I would not have thought possible for a woman. These are traits that we hold up as ideals in our society." Jernis turned to Trist. "President Trist, I would like to put forth a submission."

"Make your submission, Senator."

Jernis paused. "I would like to submit that the women who were on the ship be considered as candidates to be made Champions of Chandar."

There was a roar of surprise as everyone reacted at once.

**********

One person was not surprised. He was the one preparing to return to the man who had been more of a father to him than his real father had been. There was no happiness; only a faint, wry satisfaction that everything had worked out exactly as he had planned.

Sester had a pang of regret at having endangered Kirsten's life but it had been a small, calculated risk. The things she had dreamed of but never considered possible was now within her grasp. The rest had been child's play for him.

He knew that Argus would move the constellations to make sure that no one died. The man was reassuringly predictable that way. He was also certain of Kirsten. No matter how she felt, she would never let her father die.

Manipulating the Chandarans had been relatively simple. They had certain weaknesses that were easily exploited using their own media broadcasts. He had been like the director of a dramatic performance, moving the players, influencing the timing and controlling the scenes in order to produce the right emotional and psychological responses. His greatest triumph had been the manoeuvring of Senator Jernis.

He had arranged it all the day the he had contacted Servalan. The Federation President had many valuable resources in interestingly low places.

No one could ever know his role in what had happened. That was the lot of the puppet master. He lurked in the shadows, pulling the strings.

Besides, he doubted if anyone would understand or appreciate what he had done. Argus and Avon would most likely draw and quarter him. With a very dull knife. The Chandarans would be outraged and shoot him on sight. But as long as they didn't know, they could rejoice in the accidents of fate that would eventually change an entire society.

Sester wished he weren't leaving now. There were many things he wanted to say to Kirsten, but he had other priorities. With regret, he left his cabin and headed for the hangar bay.

**********

Sester paused outside of his sleek craft, ident-key in hand.

"Were you going to leave without telling me?"

_How does she do that?_ Sester turned nonchalantly to see Kirsten coming out of the shadows. The flush of excitement and triumph were still on her cheeks. His heart beat faster.

"Yes." This was her time and he was glad for her. She didn't need to know the complexities of his life.

"Is something wrong?"

Sester suddenly wanted to gather her in his arms and go back to his cabin but he knew that he couldn't. "Nothing's wrong, I have something to attend to."

"Will you be back?"

She was standing too close for comfort. Her barely suppressed hope was a radiating warmth that threatened to melt his firm resolve. It was not enough to stop him from leaving but it filled him with regret and unfulfilled desires. "Yes."

"I'll wait for you then."

Sester nodded. They both knew that she would still be on the ship when he came back. He leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek. "You did very well out there. I'm proud of you."

Kirsten's face turned red. "I only did what I had to do."

"We all did."

"This victory belongs as much to you as to anyone. You're the one who suggested that I challenge my father."

"Yes, but you and the others were the ones who had to face him." He suddenly realized that they were standing even closer than before. The soft curves of her anatomy brushed lightly against his own body, sending pulses of desire through him. His voice was husky as he said, "I have to go." He deliberately took a step back. "I will be back. I promise."

**********

The Regulators were ready for Sester when he entered between the tall majestic columns of the Guild headquarters. Unlike other psychostrategists, they wore long flowing capes that seemed to swallow the light. There were no words. They gestured and he followed. Sester wished that he'd had a drink of water before leaving his ship. His mouth was dry.

The arch to Chamber Five came into view. He shivered involuntarily.

The escorts left him at the door while another gestured him forward. Attempts at humour wouldn't be appropriate at this time but Sester liked flying in the face of convention, especially in the Guild. He thought in jest, _Abandon hope all ye who enter_. As he passed the threshold into the murky darkness of the chamber, it became a crashing reality. The very air of the chamber seemed to reach inside him and tear out his strength.

A low booming voice ordered, "Stand in the circle." It was his master's voice. Lights lit the edges of a circular platform. His legs obeyed automatically.

As he stood in the circle, his eyes straining into the darkness, he felt like a young child again.

"You know what to do."

Sester began to take his clothes off, dropping each piece on the ground, wondering when he would be told to stop. Was his master angry enough with him that he would require him to be stripped bare?

The cold of the chamber was sharp against his flesh as each layer of clothing was removed. His hands went to the final one.

"Stop."

Sester stood shivering in nothing but his shorts as silent eyes watched him. Each exhale sent a puff of warm air into the room.

"The last one."

Sester hesitated and then he obeyed.

He stood naked now, devoid of any protection. He had become an object under someone else's control.

"Kneel."

He lowered himself to the ground. Sounds of feet approached and knelt behind him. Hands grabbed his arms and pulled them back, fastening his wrists with restraints, pulled tight. The unseen figures disappeared from whence they came as he knelt naked and bound in the centre of the circle. His clothes had disappeared from the platform.

"You will not move until you are told. You will not speak until you are given permission to. You may nod once."

Sester nodded in acceptance of the treatment.

The room fell silent except for the faint sound of his own breathing. The circulation vents blew cold air across his naked body. Soon he was shivering constantly. The restraints that bit into his wrists barely allowed enough blood to pass through to his hands. It became a numbing pain but he forced himself to stay still. He was not allowed to move, not even the little bit to adjust the cuffs so that his hands would not feel like they were about to fall off.

He breathed in hissed breaths as he fought against the pain and cold. His knees soon joined the chorus of pain as the hard floor seemed to press up against them causing agonizing pressure. He applied his mind to block out everything except the mechanical act of breathing. In and out. Nothing else.

A memory flashed through his mind. Avon lying naked on the hard, cold floor of the isolation room. Moaning in agony as Sester applied more pain until he passed out or became so exhausted that he could only whimper weakly.

Sester shut his eyes against the memories. What he was enduring now was nothing compared to what he had done to Avon. He had learned his torturing skills here in the place of discipline. Soon it would not only be this psychological game to strip his identity and force his mind to work against itself. He shuddered in anticipation, unable to stop himself from visualizing what would happen next.

In the midst of it, there was one warm memory, Kirsten's hopeful face and the warm concern in her eyes. _Will you be back?_

_I hope so._

Chapter Forty-Eight

Avon, Argus and Vila were on the flight deck, discussing Sester's abrupt departure.

Argus was at his flight station. "What do you think he's up to?"

Avon was leaning against the ledge in front of Zen. His arms were folded across his chest as he half-listened to the conversation. There was something odd about what had happened in the Third Challenge. He said absently, "Nothing good."

Vila made himself more comfortable on the couch. "A place full of people who think we're puppets? It gives me the shivers just thinking about it."

Avon looked up briefly. "I agree with Vila."

Vila twisted around to face him. "You do?"

"It's too dangerous having a group of people whose sole purpose is to manipulate others."

Argus paused in the middle of checking a reading. "I hope you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

Avon pushed himself away from the ledge. "Why not?" He approached the flight station with his hands clasped thoughtfully behind him. "They're obviously working for Servalan."

Argus said, "Servalan or the Federation?"

"Now that's an interesting question."

Vila asked, "Does it matter? Either way is dangerous for us."

Argus said, "I'm not going to blow them up. You may have been used to it with Blake, but I don't operate that way."

"That's obvious."

Argus fixed Avon with a glare. "And I believe that neither did you."

"But not out of some misplaced sense of altruism. Random acts of destruction with no coherent plan are pointless. The only thing that does is cause a lot of unnecessary suffering. Hardly in our interests if we want to convince people to fight the Federation. People rarely feel charitable once their families have become collateral damage."

"But you're proposing to destroy the Guild headquarters?"

Vila sat up. "Wait a minute; isn't Sester supposed to be there?"

Argus's eyes narrowed and he stared hard at Avon.

Avon's lips curled in a lop-sided grin. "Well?"

"Are you giving me a reason or an excuse?"

Avon asked, "Which do you need?"

"Neither. Because I'm not doing it."

"That's all I needed to know." Avon went over to join Vila at the couches.

"That's all you needed…wait a minute. You _knew_ that I wouldn't do it."

Avon stared at the ceiling. "You're painfully predictable."

"Then why propose the idea if you knew I wouldn't?"

"You assumed."

Vila's brows were knitted as he recalled their earlier words. "Avon never said that he wanted to destroy them."

Avon folded his arms across his chest.

Argus frowned slightly as he realized this. "I'm the only one who did. As you said, I assumed."

" You're bound by the rigidity of the military mind. Even though you won't do it, your thought processes still lean in that direction."

"Alright. Now that we've established that I'm rigid…"

Vila stifled a laugh by coughing. His naughty mind was conjuring up an interesting image. He must be more tired than he thought.

Argus threw him an annoyed glance. He asked Avon, "Why don't you tell me why you brought this up? You never do anything without a reason."

"In light of our success on Chandar, I think we need to rethink our strategy. Against the Andromedans and the Federation. We need a long-term plan."

"I agree with that."

Vila asked, "You mean like what you did with the Pylene-50 and the warlords? That didn't work very well."

Avon grimaced at the reminder of failure. "I misjudged Zukan's intelligence and greed. And Servalan's deviousness. If Zukan had not turned…" Avon's jaw tightened at a stab of pain in his stomach. If Zukan had not betrayed them, the last four years of his life would have been vastly different and a friend would not be dead.

Vila asked worriedly, "Avon?"

Another stab in his chest. Fists tightened. His eyes could no longer see the present. _Did I hate him that much?_

Cally's worried voice entered his mind. * _Avon. Are you all right? _*

Vila peered into the unseeing eyes. "Avon!"

Argus rushed over and knelt down beside the man who was frozen in pain and guilt. "Avon! Stop thinking about it!"

Another stab in his chest. Like the blast of a rifle hitting, pushing him backwards. Avon collapsed back against the couch. There was a tickle of thought at the back of his mind. _Odd._

He heard Cally's voice again, this time more urgent. * _Avon!_ *

_Very odd. _As his mind asserted itself, he became calmer.

"Avon!" Both men shouted, trying to reach him. Argus had his hands on Avon's shoulders, preparing to shake him out of the nightmare he was trapped in.

Avon thought to her, *_ I'm fine, Cally. A twinge of memory. Nothing more._ *

She asked, *_ Do you need one of the doctors? _*

"Vila, go get…" Cally was still in the medical unit recovering. "…one of the doctors. Hurry!"

Avon grabbed Argus's arm. "No."

Avon thought to her, *_ No. I'm fine. The others are with me. _*

Cally said reluctantly, *_ Alright. But you will let me know if something happens? _*

*_ I promise. _*

Avon's calmer eyes focused on Argus's face. "I'm fine." He let go of the other man's arm.

Argus asked worriedly, "It still affects you, doesn't it?"

"Only if we talk about it." Avon needed time to process the idea he had. Alone.

Argus could almost hear the additional walls going up between them. Avon wasn't ready to deal with it, at least not with any of them. "Let's go back to discussing this idea of a long-term plan."

**********

"Charles."

Sester blinked as he came back to himself. He shivered violently as his sluggish mind connected with his body. _C-c-cold_. Parts of his body were so numb that he couldn't feel the pain anymore.

_How long have I been here_? Long enough for his stomach to be complaining bitterly at being neglected. _More than twenty-four hours? It feels longer._

The voice boomed again. "Charles."

"Master." How many times had the master called out his name before he heard it?

"How do you feel?"

Sester knew that this question expected a different answer. It was a solicitation about his health, but not his physical one. As a child he had not known this when he was first sent to this dark chamber but he was a fast learner. "Whatever you want me to feel."

"Good."

The approval of his master warmed his frozen body.

"Get up."

He grimaced at the command. _This is going to be interesting_. Having his hands free would have been of enormous help but they were still bound behind him. He took a deep breath, feeling the sharp air enter his lungs, chilling him further. He shifted his weight to one side and cried out as thousands of hot pins seemed to stab into his knees at once. He collapsed to the ground, moaning in agony as feeling rushed back into previously numb areas.

Hooded black figures appeared at his side and removed his restraints, causing even more pain as blood rushed to deprived areas. They hauled him up unceremoniously, holding him until his knees no longer buckled under his weight. Once he was able to stand unaided, they disappeared as noiselessly as they came.

Sester stood on shaky legs as he waited for the next order. He had not expected the help, that had never happened before. It was more of the psychological game, to keep him guessing and disoriented.

Don't expect anything and they will not be able to dash your hopes. He wondered if Avon had learned that lesson at the Detention Centre. He had to have. No man could stand the repeated destruction of hope, no matter how trivial that hope was. One had to give it up altogether or find one that his tormentors did not know about.

Sester's hope was that his master wanted what was best for him. That was the test. No matter what was done to him, he had to believe. It had been a hard lesson to learn as a child, to trust the man who wielded the power of life and death over him; who would torment him for purposes only the master understood.

In the end, it had been worth it. He had breezed past all the trials until he stood alone as the best. He was able to achieve what no one else dared to attempt. He was the irresistible whirlwind that swept away all obstacles put in his path; single-handedly engineering the return of most of the Inner Worlds to the Federation after Star One had been destroyed. It was a masterpiece of devious politics and no one other than a select few in the Guild ever knew the instrumental role he had played behind the scenes. Not even Servalan knew even though she had briefly been the unwitting recipient of his efforts.

He didn't know what was coming next. In this room, any punishment depended on the whims of its controller. More hooded figures entered the chamber. Sester's heart pounded in his chest when he saw the object that one of them carried. It was a silver rod the length of a man's arm, its surface smooth to the touch, with no hint to its true purpose. Anyone could touch it without effect but when he touched it…Sester shivered. He could already feel a cold sweat. He wasn't sure he was ready for this.

All of this raced through his mind, as his face remained unmoved. The shrouded figure came to stand in front of him, the object held in both hands and extended towards him.

His master's voice boomed in command. "Take it. Do not let go until I tell you to."

Sester took the rod firmly in both hands. It was cold and hard, its bright surface glinted in his eyes. He cried out as the rod glowed red and electrifying pulses coursed through his body; like the prods that were used on animals to tame them to their human masters. He groaned and collapsed to his knees but he did not let go of the rod.

**********

Avon was back in his lab, staring at the parts of ORAC laid out neatly on a workbench, its clear case little more than an empty shell holding dead parts. There was a faint look of disgust on his face as his fingers played absently with a laser probe. Without the proper parts, it was impossible to fix the cantankerous machine. He didn't miss the computer's insolent behaviour but it had its uses.

He sat down in front of his computer. ORAC was nothing but a computer after all, a complex machine that could process millions of computations in a nanosecond. It did not have the creativity of the human machine. Avon smiled wryly. He was the one who had the breakthrough to synthesize the Pylene-50 antidote. ORAC had simply served as a sophisticated simulation tool.

Avon began building the template of the program that would be required to run simulations on Shade antidotes. At the back of his mind, he continued thinking about the oddity.

**********

Sester moaned in agony as the pulses continued to race his body but he did not let go. He was past the point of caring that tears were flowing down his face and he was writhing in agony. It was his master's will verses the demands of his body. His fingers barely had the strength to hold the rod anymore but his master's voice was silent as the hooded figures watched. His heart faltered.

**********

Sester regained consciousness to a hand gently stroking his head. His body was cradled in strong arms and the thick, familiar material of the Guild cape covered his body. It still carried the heat of its owner. His breathing came in shuddering gasps and his arms and shoulders were painfully numb.

He forced protesting lids to open a sliver and saw his master's face looking down at him_._ A sob escaped his lips. He had failed, he must have passed out and let go of the rod. His voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry, master."

His master's hand rubbed his back over the cape that covered his nakedness, bringing him warmth, comfort and what he needed most, forgiveness. "Shhh. It's alright, Charles, you did well."

Tears coursed down the man's face. "No. I failed." The pain of disappointing his master was an ache that was making it hard to breathe. It was far worse than the physical pain he had endured. This was the true punishment. "I…let you down…" His body shook in silent sobs.

Venner had rushed down to the chamber when Charles fell to the ground unconscious, his hands still gripping the rod. They had to pry it from his stiff, unmoving fingers. The Guildmaster had ordered the others out and when they left, had lifted Sester's limp body into his arms. He rubbed the feeling back into unfeeling limbs before removing his own cape and laying it over him.

No one had held onto the rod this long before. Most controllers would allow a period of pain before letting the victim release the instrument of punishment. Venner had given Charles the ultimate test, pushing him to the point of collapse in order to make him fail. He should have let go, but this boy had always achieved the impossible for him. Even though Sester was an adult now, the Guildmaster still thought of him as the proud young boy who had stood defiantly before him the first time they met. There had been a flicker of fear in the boy's eyes but it had not tempered his cheeky manner.

Despite what Venner had told Deverell, or what he showed to others, he loved this boy. Charles had become the son he never had. But despite his affection for him, Venner served Guild interests first. He would never allow anything to compromise what must be done.

With his favourite, he was even more cold and ruthless, because he could not afford the weakness of human emotions to cloud his judgement. The brief glimpses of warmth were what the boy craved from him and he rarely gave it. It made the boy try his best, pushing himself beyond his limits, making him willing to do anything in order to gain the approval of his master.

Sester did not know that he had not failed and Venner was not going to tell him. It was more useful that way. The crushing feeling of being a disappointment would make Charles more tractable to his master's will. Venner continued stroking him gently; showing love at a time when the boy felt he least deserved it, binding him further. "Are you willing to take the final punishment?"

Sester felt faint, all strength had been stripped away from him. He had nothing left with which to fight but his master's presence infused his cold and numb body with a warmth that he knew he had not earned. His voice shook as he said, "Yes, master."

"Rest now. It will begin again soon."

Sester shuddered and closed his eyes as his master continued to give him warmth.

**********

Deverell had snuck into the controller's booth after the hooded Regulators had been ordered out of the room. He watched with fascination as Venner tended to Sester.

**********

Afterwards, Deverell met with Venner in the infirmary. The Guildmaster finished giving orders for the sleeping man's care and they both headed back to his office.

As they reached his door, Deverell said more as an observation than a question. "You're not subjecting him to the third one?"

"He doesn't need it."

"I had always wondered how you managed to handle someone like him."

"Now you know."

Deverell snorted silently. "A _human_ weakness."

"But a useful one. It served a dual purpose. It tied him to me and it made him more effective."

"I still don't like it."

"You don't have to." Venner chose the couch rather than the chair behind his desk. Even though it wasn't he who had to suffer the Chamber the last two days, it had been a draining experience for him as well. He glanced over at the chronometer on the wall. It was too early for a relaxing drink.

Deverell said, "It's still too dangerous to have someone like him." He studied Venner out of the corner of his eyes. What he had witnessed in the Chamber had been very revealing. The ties obviously ran both ways. He wondered if Venner realized it.

"As long as he is tied to me, he won't be."

"And when he is no longer?" Deverell wasn't worried about Venner's ability to make objective decisions. The man was far too cold-blooded and ruthless when it came to Guild business. Even if it meant sacrificing his favourite.

Venner asked coldly, "Do you think I will let that happen?"

"I suppose not. I don't envy him."

"No one should. If I were still as human as he is, I might have some regrets."

"But you're not. Do you miss it?"

"Don't be a fool."

Deverell smiled at the answer. "I think in some ways, he's far more ruthless than we are. At least we don't feel anything when we do what we have to do. He does but it doesn't stop him."

"One day, he might go mad because of what we require of him."

"Or he might turn against us."

"As long as he cannot turn against me, that will never happen. He might try to work around my orders, but he is not capable of direct defiance."

"Even with his strong bond to the others?"

"That is the only danger." There was another one but Venner considered it minor. Sester had always had this problem throughout his life. It had never amounted to anything serious.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Sester felt like a young child as he stood before his master. A tired, shaky child who was still recovering from the effects of the punishments. Venner was studying him over steepled fingers, taking his time, allowing the silence to work.

When Sester woke on a soft bed in the infirmary, he had been shocked. Why had his master cut short the session in the punishment Chamber? Was he displeased with his failure? Sester hoped that he had something for him to do so that he could redeem himself.

Venner asked, "Tell me about the woman."

Shock nearly gave Sester away but he remained firmly in control of himself. Servalan must have been the source of information. That meant that the Guildmaster knew about Reya. He couldn't know about Kirsten yet. Sester wanted to make sure that she remained a non-topic with the Guildmaster. He did not want this complication.

He maintained a tone of surprised innocence, calling on the roguish charm that was his normal character. "Sir?"

"Charles." There was no warning or threat, but it was enough. This had always been one of Sester's constant trials. He loved women and they found him irresistible. The master had not been pleased but he had allowed a certain latitude as long as Sester didn't allow it to affect his work or objectivity.

Sester grinned apologetically. "You always know me, sir."

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing?"

Venner suppressed a smile. "That depends. Tell me what kind of trouble you've managed to fall into now."

Sester sighed with exaggerated resignation as his mind worked furiously. How much could he tell his master without making Reya someone of interest? He had to treat her as another one of his playmates. "Her name is Reya Reve."

**********

A week after the Challenges ended, the _Justice_ crew was readying to depart for Athol. The situation on Chandar had been resolved to everyone's satisfaction. The women were safe and Chandaran society was, if not moving out of the dark ages in terms of their views of women, at least open to dialogue in improving the treatment of women.

**********

Avon's eyes were half-lidded as he lay faced down on his bed.

Cally was almost completely healed but that unfortunately meant she noticed he had been neglecting himself shockingly (her words). At least that was her assessment of his tendency to work long hours, to substitute nutrition bars for real food, and to sleep on a chair by her bed during her recovery. He didn't agree but there was no stopping her when she had insisted on returning to his regular rehabilitation routine; something she had to forgo during the busy days of the mission on Chandar. Her tendency to nurse him when she thought he needed it was irritating and intruded on his independence but she cared about him. It would be unreasonable to fault her for that. As she pointed out, he had taken care of her when she needed it so he should understand her desire to do the same for him. Before such logic, he had reluctantly relented.

As Cally's fingers expertly explored his body, searching out areas of tightness and pain and kneading away the stresses, Avon felt light. Each stroke and press released the burdens and tensions, allowing his busy mind to slip into a relaxed meditative mood. She was quite good at it. Calm deep breaths. Avon felt an unfamiliar peace and contentment in this simple activity. His mind wandered.

_The oddity_._ Blake_. _Why did…_ His body tensed as memories of the tracking gallery began to surface. A twinge of pain reminded him that he should not be thinking of this now.

"Avon, try to relax." Cally's touch became less rehabilitative and more sensual. Avon inhaled deeply as she caressed him, her hands following the curve of his back. His mind concentrated on the enjoyable sensations rather than continuing with the dark memories.

He shivered slightly as Cally's fingers reached a particularly sensitive area. It was a pleasurable feeling and almost seemed as if she was touching him lower down. It was fortunate he was faced down. Or perhaps not. He mumbled into the pillow, "That depends on your definition of relaxation."

Her hands wandered lower. Avon drew in a hissed breath. "That's a good definition."

Cally smiled and helped him to roll over.

**********

Reya rested her head on Argus's comfortable chest, her fingers playing along the ridges of muscles.

Argus said lightly, "You know that if you keep doing that, you won't be sleeping for awhile?"

"I'm not sleepy."

Argus grinned and wrapped his arms around her. "Neither am I."

An hour later, as their breathing returned to normal and their bodies shone with the evidence of their exertions, Reya said, "Quite a few of the women have decided to stay on Chandar."

"Hmm?" His eyes were closed. "That's good."

"Did you hear me?"

"Mmmm….yes." He was enjoying the warmth of her body against his. "You said…the women want to stay."

"About half of them."

With his eyes still closed, he nuzzled the side of her neck lightly. "Mmmm."

Reya sighed but the light kisses turned it into a light moan. "It looks like the women will be approved as Champions. It will ensure the protection of the ones who remain."

"You were…" His kisses trailed up to her ear, causing a ticklish sensation. "…magnificent. All of you."

Her breathing quickened and she squeezed his firm shoulders. "Was it hard being support this time?"

Argus lifted his head and looked down at her. "It was horrible. I think I deserve a reward."

"I just bet you do and I can guess what you have in mind."

Argus sighed. "Another person who thinks I'm predictable."

Reya traced his lips. "Who said you are?"

"It doesn't matter."

"You're reassuring in your predictability. Everyone knows that they can depend on you."

His eyes were soft. "How do you do that? Make everything sound much better than it is?"

"It's the truth. And I don't think it could have been too horrible. We saved an appropriately heroic role for you at the end."

An ingenuous smile brightened his face. "That _was_ fun. I'm glad that no one died. Well…other than that Thyssen ship. But I didn't have a choice about that. They wouldn't stop firing on the women."

"I'm sure everyone cheered when you did it."

Argus sighed sadly. "I suppose."

Reya brushed her fingers through his hair. "There are some things about you that are not predictable."

"I know something else that wouldn't be predictable." He whispered something in her ear.

Reya's eyes widened. "Oh." She started to blush. "Where did you learn that?"

"I promised not to say."

"I think I can guess."

"Do you…" Argus was turning a light shade of red. "…want to try it?"

**********

Corinne twisted around, trying to see what Vila was doing behind her. "Are you sure it's supposed to be like this?"

Vila picked up the clear plastic instruction sheet. "That's what it says here."

"I don't know. It doesn't feel right." She wriggled around and adjusted the straps. "Shouldn't we be doing this in one of the cargo bays?"

Vila eyed her critically, wondering if he had it on backwards. "Don't worry, we won't turn it on. Here take it off." He helped her as she shrugged the straps off her shoulders.

"Why do we _need_ a jetpack?"

"I saw it in one of the Chandaran shops." Vila didn't like most of the Chandarans but they did have interesting gadgets. "I thought…we might be able to use it. One of these days. Be prepared, I always say."

"_Do_ you say that?" asked Corinne curiously. It was the first time she had heard this from him.

"And its fun." Vila put his arms through the loops and buckled himself in.

And accidentally activated the switch. He shot upwards at an alarming speed.

Corinne tried to grab him. "Vila!"

**********

One of the Tellaran doctors at the infirmary looked at Vila's head wound. "How did this happen?"

"I…banged into a door."

The doctor eyed him suspiciously, "And this caused an injury to the top of your head?"

"I wasn't looking."

Corinne blurted out, "Vila was trying to help me."

"I see." There was a faintly amused look on her face. "Do you feel dizzy?" She ran through a list of symptoms as she checked his eyes and coordination.

"None of those."

She asked several questions to test his brain function. When she was satisfied, she said, "You're fortunate. There doesn't seem to be a concussion, just a large bruise on your head and smaller scratches and bruises on your arms that are easily taken care of."

The doctor took out a tissue regenerator and applied it to his head. "Try to avoid 'banging' into doors for the next day or two and come back immediately if you feel any of the symptoms I mentioned."

**********

Kirsten sighed heavily as she sat at a table with several of the woman. Even though they were all happy, there was a subdued air. Some of them were preparing to leave in the morning. "I'm going to miss all of you."

Sentha said, "We could always visit each other. No one can stop us now."

"Still, it's not the same." She sighed again.

"Is there something else wrong?"

Kirsten said, "I never thought you would choose to stay."

"I'm even more surprised than you are but Chandar is my home. I wouldn't feel comfortable anywhere else."

Alara said, "I wouldn't either."

Sentha said with light sarcasm, "I thought you had another reason to stay. How is Brady, by the way?"

Alara blushed. She had been visiting the injured young man at the hospital every day. "He's fine."

Sentha said suggestively, "I'm sure he is."

Alara was turning a deep shade of pink.

Kirsten was glad that Sentha didn't realize that she hadn't answered her question. The truth was there was another reason why she was feeling out of sorts. She missed Sester. He had an easy charm that made everything seem fun. She missed the annoyed and frustrated looks he would get when she teased him. The game they were playing with each other was exciting and made her feel alive. He inspired feelings in her that she knew were reciprocated, whenever he allowed himself to acknowledge them. She loved the challenge and mystery of him.

She was also worried. He was unusually subdued before he left and he deftly avoided all of her questions about where he was going and why. He had promised that he would return. She was going to hold him to that promise or go and find him if he didn't come back.

Chapter Fifty

Sester sped towards Athol Prime on his observer craft. It had been a long time since his ship had been used for the purpose for it was designed. A quick long-range scout vehicle with sophisticated scanners and comm equipment. Not to mention a state-of-the-art stealth capability that made him invisible to all but close range sensors. It wasn't as good as the one Avon had developed for the _Justice_ but it was more than adequate for his purposes.

From his ship, he could observe his puppets and ply the skills that made him one of the best manipulators in the Guild. What he had achieved on Chandar was minor compared to some of the tasks that his master had assigned him in the past. Venner had warned him that something was going on in the Athol Territories, something beyond the Shade problem they seemed to be having currently. His task was to find out what and to stop it, after it occurred. Whatever that meant. His master was more cryptic than he was most of the time.

_You will find the information you need once you discover the problem._

Sester sighed. This was easier said than done if you had no idea what you were looking for. He would just have to be patient and keep his mind and senses sharp. The master always had a reason for what he did. He most likely did not want him compromised because he was going back to the crew with an Auron onboard. If he knew ahead of time, stresses might show despite his control.

He looked forward to visiting Athol, to walk its streets and absorb its atmosphere personally. It wasn't usually required for a psychostrategist in order to do his work. Their tools and information were cold things contained in computers and on strategy boards.

Sester liked the personal touch. There was something special in being with people even though he wasn't part of them; energy he needed to bring his own abilities to its full potential. He found them fun to be with even though they were supposed to be nothing more than puppets to him. This was something he carefully kept from the others in the Guild.

At first, his instructors had tried to 'cure' him of this. It had meant many sessions in the rehab clinics and the punishment chambers. Surprisingly, it had been his master who had finally allowed him this 'quirk' as a necessary requirement for his talents to be maximized. The Guildmaster had given a directive that he was to be left alone while he was doing his job.

Sester had made the most of this 'freedom' but never in an obvious way. He never wanted his master to regret his decision. The only exception had been in the area of women.

Sester smiled wryly as his fingers played absently with the console and part of his mind filtered information from the screens in front of him. He had never been able to resist where they were concerned. Women were delightful and dangerous. The ones who challenged him were wonderful treasures.

Now there were two women in his life. Reya and Kirsten. He had been surprised that during his time in the Chamber, when he needed to hold onto a warm memory, it had been Kirsten who came unbidden to his mind. There was undeniable heat with this woman and she had an irritating ability to get under his skin. She wasn't just a mystery and a challenge, she was an enigma. He had misjudged her at first, a mistake he was determined not to make again. She had a sharp intelligence and strength of will that would serve her to great advantage if she had been given the opportunities.

He was looking forward to joining the crew again. Assuming that Argus and Avon let him back onboard. Sester smiled.

**********

The crew made their final farewells and left Chandar. Marlena and her team of Tellarans remained behind to help President Trist and the women who had elected to stay. The rest would be picked up by another Tellaran ship that was on its way. Some of the women had asked to join the Tellar Union while others like Karita wanted to return home.

The Chandaran Senate was informed of the important role the women had played in revealing the presence of more aliens in their midst. Even the most stubborn of the men could not deny that it was a weakness to ignore the usefulness of the women in identifying possible alien threats. More dialogue was opening up every day.

The bolder and more sympathetic of the men were bringing their women out into the light, though never alone. It was a small step but a significant one.

The women of the Challenges were held up as heroes and Trist, in his role as both President and the Elder Champion, made sure that they were always included in Champion duties and ceremonies. He charged Dannon with their instruction on Champion protocols so that no one could say that they were lacking in any way.

Each Champion of Chandar was given a sizeable stipend and property so the women were now truly independent and no longer needed to return to their former lives. This caused great uproar at first but most of the men realized that they would have preferred not taking them back. You couldn't be the dominant male if your property was a Champion. It would make things awkward to say the least.

Alara was given the holdings that had once belonged to her man. He was dead of course, his lifeless husk had been found in one of the storage rooms. Brady had comforted her when he was released from the hospital. The two spent much time together and eventually became bonded.

Kirsten had asked to stay on with the crew and had been granted a trial period while she decided what she wanted to do with her life.

**********

The command crew was gathered on the flight deck as they discussed their new mission.

After another rehabilitation session with Cally, Avon was feeling very mellow but as he began to process information, he became his impassive self again. He asked Reya, "Did your brother tell you what the dangers of Shade were?"

Reya sat opposite. "No. He only said that it was an addictive drug and that he needed our help in finding its source."

Avon said, "It's more than just an addictive drug. It rivals Shadow in its destructiveness."

Vila was trying not to rub the slight bump that remained of the bruise on his head. The last thing he needed was to try to explain his 'door accident' to someone else. "That's all we need."

"Aptly put. I have been doing some research on the origins and spread of Shade."

Argus's face was grave. "Is the Terra Nostra behind it?" He had some bad dealings with that criminal organization.

Avon said, "No. It's a rival group to the Terra Nostra. They have been trying to seize power from the Terra Nostra for several centuries now. We've already fought one of its leaders."

Vila felt a chill. "Please don't tell me it's Sevisia."

"It is."

"I told you not to tell me that. Now, I won't be able to sleep tonight." He still remembered the crimmo leader who had made mincemeat of his opponents, literally.

Argus mused, "I had been wondering why a criminal would feel the need to have an army or to carve out a territory for itself. If they're going against the Terra Nostra…"

Vila said quickly, "Then they'd be going up against the Federation."

Argus turned to him in query. "The Federation?"

Vila said, "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what? What has this to do with the Federation? Other than they're a bunch of crooks too."

Avon said, "You're more correct than you know."

Vila said, "The Federation runs the Terra Nostra."

"What?"

Avon said, "Not quite."

Vila turned to him. "What do you mean, not quite? Isn't that what we found out on the Shadow planet?"

"I've had some time to think about this. If you remember, I found the ID of one of the President's special security force."

Argus and Reya found this all fantastic news. Reya asked, "What did you conclude?"

"The President's special security force is answerable only to the President. Like Servalan's guards, they are her own personal security force. They are not strictly Federation and do not serve wider Federation interests. They only answer to the President."

Argus mused, "They only serve the President's interests?"

"Correct. So more accurately said, it is the President who runs the Terra Nostra, not the Federation."

Vila groaned, "This is sounding better and better. Why did I wake up this morning?"

Avon remarked, "You didn't."

"What do you mean, I didn't? I'm standing right here!"

"I believe you made an appearance past noon. Although appearance would be stretching it."

"Haha. That's very funny."

Argus said, "Let me get this straight. You're saying that this criminal organization is fighting Servalan by attacking the Terra Nostra?" _That might explain why Servalan had me execute Sevisia_._ If this organization were becoming a threat to her, then she would want them eliminated._

Vila seemed confused. "Does that mean they're on our side? I mean, anyone who's an enemy of Servalan can't be all bad."

Reya said fiercely, "They're not on anyone's side except their own. They're harming my people."

Cally said, "Reya's right. They're both the enemy."

Vila seemed even more confused as he looked at Cally. "But Cally, didn't you support Blake when he wanted to use the Terra Nostra to fight the Federation? How would this be different?"

Cally had a troubled expression on her face. She watched Avon carefully. There were many things she wanted to say about Blake but she dared not say them for Avon's sake. She had a long time to think on Terminal. The conclusions she came to had not been pleasant ones. If she had to choose her own path again, she would have objected more to what Blake did rather than her one feeble attempt over Star One. She would have supported Gan and Avon more in trying to stop Blake and to make him think.

"I've also had time to think, Vila. When I was on Terminal, I had nothing else to do. I think Blake lost his way at some point and we blindly followed him. I should have realized it when he wanted to work with the Terra Nostra. Nothing is worth sacrificing innocent lives no matter how noble the purpose. We cannot fight criminals by becoming criminals ourselves or we become the very things that we are trying to fight."

She said as an aside to Avon, *_ I'm sorry for bringing Blake up. I know memories of him are difficult for you. _*

*_ It's fine, Cally. I no longer have the right to criticize him but you do. _*

*_ If we had been able to go off together, I would have liked that. _*

*_ You mean, avoid Blake altogether? Now that would have been an interesting proposition. _*

*_ It's too bad that we never thought of it. _*

Avon smiled. *_ What makes you think that I didn't? _*

Argus said, "I agree with Cally. When I left the Federation, it was because of their ruthlessness and brutality. It never sat right with me that some of the rebels did the same things. We are not going to work with this Shade organization, we're going to destroy them."

**********

Jenna's heart was filled with guilt and grief as she sat watching Lelea tend to Rane. The old soldier had slipped into a coma. There wasn't much time left but at least he was no longer in pain.

_Where are you, Argus? Why aren't you here yet?_

She said in a hushed voice, "Lelea."

The woman turned a tear-stained face towards her. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

"I know that Rane didn't want this when he…" Jenna caught herself, she had almost said, when he was still alive. "…he was still conscious but my friends are coming. They might be able to find a cure."

Lelea's eyes brightened with fearful hope. "Where are they?"

"They're coming soon." She hoped very soon_._ "But it won't do any good if he's dead when they get here."

"Then what can we do?"

"This is the part he won't like but we don't have a choice. There is one way to slow down the poison. We have to give him the Shade."

Lelea shook her head violently, "No! He didn't want that."

"I know he didn't but I don't want to see him die. Do you? You can tell him that I forced you." Jenna took a small lined case from her jacket and took out the injector.

---------- THE END ----------

To be continued in _Perceptions of Truth_


End file.
